Digital Shuffle
by Famirad
Summary: One night, Takato vanishes. With something odd happening down at Hypnos, maybe there's more to this than just a missing boy. To get their friend back, not to mention save Tokyo, Jenrya and Ruki must deal with a Digital World bent on invasion and new allies with their own agendas. [Crossover with Adventure, Tamers, Wonderswan, X-Evolution]
1. Day 1: False Digital Field

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own Digimon.  
**Author's Note**: Third season, centered around Takato and Jenrya (and one more character). Switches to the other characters from time to time. Takes just before Yamaki sets forth his Juggernaut plan (like, a day or two before the Juggernaut is activated. Don't really know the exact episode, guess between Episodes 12 and 14) **departs from canon from there and goes off in a different direction **

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effect.

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Digital Shuffle  
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**(Day 1 – False Digital Fog)**

"So, what're your plans for tonight?"

Takato Matsuda looked up, tugging on his shoes, "Huh?"

"I said, what're your plans for tonight?" Jenrya Lee repeated. The other Tamer carefully folded his gym shirt, his back to the other. He just finished his physical education class – Takato's P.E period happened to fall right behind Jenrya's. Takato had arrived at the last moment in the five-minute interval between classes and caught Jenrya about to leave.

"Um…dunno," Takato bent over his knee as he focused on tying his gym shoes, "Homework and more homework, I guess."

"Oh, that'll be fun," Jenrya said. He placed the folded shirt and shorts into his locker, "You really have that much homework?"

"Yeah. And I really wanted to see Guilmon today…" Takato sighed. He reached up to remove the yellow goggles from his hair, wincing as the straps got caught in a tangle. He tugged on the goggles until they ripped themselves from the tangle, managing to suppress a yelp of pain. "I probably won't have enough time when I finish my homework to get out of the house."

"You know, if he wasn't so big, he could stay at your house instead of out in the park."

"You don't have to remind me," Takato mumbled.

"Well, you should've known a red dinosaur would be just a _little_ obvious. If your parents won't even let you keep a cat, what made you think they'd let you keep Guilmon?"

"It wasn't like I had it all planned out!"

Jenrya closed his locker, slipping his feet into his sneakers. He turned to his friend and grinned to indicate he was just teasing. Takato only heaved another rueful sigh.

"Sometimes I think I bring all this stuff down on myself," he grumbled. He didn't really _mean_ it, no matter how much he complained. He created Guilmon completely by accident (actually, he still wasn't quite sure how he'd did it), but he didn't regret it. In fact, overall, it had been really fun hanging around with Guilmon, Jenrya and Terriermon. Heck, even Ruki wasn't that bad once you got to know her.

_Gosh, I just realized how boring my life was before I met Guilmon and the others…wow.  
_

Jenrya shouldered his backpack, "Well, I'll be seeing you."

"Meeting up with Terriermon?" Takato opened his own locker.

"Yeah. He's waiting outside. Said the locker room's too smelly for him."

"Smelly? Huh, now that you mention it, it does sorta smell in here."

"You know Terriermon: blunt, as usual."

"Yeah, as usual…" Takato trailed off, not sure what to say.

There was an awkward silence. Takato scratched the back of his head, while Jenrya cleared his throat.

"Uh," Jenrya looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. He shuffled his feet, "Ah…about - "

A whistle sounded from outside.

"Oh, jeez, P.E's starting!" Takato hurriedly shoved the remainder of his stuff into his locker and shut the door, "I'm gonna be late again!" He pulled up his gym socks from where they had slipped down to his ankles, "Sorry, Jenrya, but I gotta…"

He looked up. Jenrya was gone.

"…go…?" Takato wondered briefly what Jenyra had been about to ask before he remembered he was supposed to be at gym class. _I can't be late for P.E or Mrs. Yamachi's gonna make me run around the whole school _again_!_ Keeping this cheerful thought in mind, Takato raced out of the locker room.

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Jenrya made his way across campus. He was supposed to be heading to his English class but instead took his time. It didn't matter if he was a minute or two late. He could just say he'd gone to the bathroom, the teacher knew he was a good student and probably wouldn't give him any trouble.

The boy crossed the stretch of grass, heading for the shed. He told Terriermon to hide near the school's tool shed until he came by after gym. Jenrya smiled slightly - the rabbit-Digimon had insisted the boy's locker room was "stinky" and _"killing_ my nose". Terriermon might be right, but he also had a problem with exaggeration, along with being way too too blunt at times. Especially when he had first encountered Takato and caused the poor kid to run away, on the verge of tears.

Jenyra's smile dropped. On the topic of Takato…

Jenrya was concerned about the other Tamer. He didn't want to play babysitter or anything, but…well, he was worried. Takato wasn't acting strangely or anything, which was _exactly_ what bothered Jenrya. It really hadn't been that long since Guilmon first digivolved to Growlmon. Jenrya remembered the horror and fear in Takato's face that night. Even Jenrya had been scared._ I thought Growlmon was gonna make us the second course after he got diced up Devidramon._ It didn't take a genius to figure out what had been going through Takato's mind at the time: he had been afraid that Growlmon wasn't Guilmon anymore, that whenever he digivolved, he'd turn into a monster who only loved to destroy. _I used to think like that. _Still, Jenrya was bewildered. Takato was acting like nothing happened. Like Guilmon never digivolved that night. Like everything was fine now.

Yeah, right.

Jenrya thought Takato was trying to pretend like nothing was wrong. Takato might have even fooled himself into believing that. _Man, I should've known Takato would be an optimist. He always wants to see the best in people, doesn't he? But if he keeps pretending nothing happened, it's only gonna come back and hit him in the stomach._

Takato _knew_ this wasn't a game. _These wild Digimon we've been fighting, they're as real as we are. Takato seemed to get over the fact we're _killing_ them really fast._ Jenrya frowned. Maybe he should explain to Takato the similarities between the Tamer's Digimon and the wild ones again. Takato was taking things too well, especially for his situation. Maybe he didn't fully understand the wild Digimon weren't cold-blooded monsters? He probably didn't know they were most likely frightened because of the strange world they found themselves in.

Yeah, he'd definitely have a talk with Takato. Deleting Digimon was as bad as killing humans. And what were they going to do about that weird blond man with the sunglasses? Jenrya himself had only seen the guy when he said something along the lines of "stop playing dangerous games" a few days ago, but Takato said he saw the man another time. He hadn't gone into details because the both of them had been sitting in class_._

Another thing Jenrya was going to have to ask Takato when they both had more time.

"Jen-r-y-a-a!"

He snapped to attention in time to spot the bundle of light green fur hurtling through the air toward him. Jenrya threw up his hands.

"Hey! Warn me next time you jump at me like that!"

The Digimon scrunched up his nose at his Tamer.

"What took you so long? I was bored to death!"

Jenrya laughed quietly as Terriermon scrambled from his arms to perch on his backpack, "I was in P.E. We had to do conditioning today."

"You wash your hair for exercise?" Terriermon snorted. "That's so _weird_."

Jenrya craned his head, watching as the rabbit-Digimon slipped into his backpack, his head and floppy ears sticking out.

"No, we _don't_ wash our hair for exercise, Terriermon. You're just being silly. Conditioning is a bunch of exercises that supposed to work out all your muscles. The teacher decided to make us go around the conditioning stations several times – I just got out of the locker room," he replied.

"Huh."

Jenrya turned around and began to make his way back to the main classroom complex. He had to shift his heavier backpack several times because it kept slipping.

"Terriermon, you're gonna have to lose some weight," Jenrya grunted jokingly. "I'm gonna break my back one day because of you."

He didn't quite hear his Digimon's reply: the ringing bell drowned anything the Rookie might have said. Jenrya broke into a run. He didn't want to be more late than he already was.

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"Conditioning. I shoulda known." Takato rolled his eyes up to the sky. "Maybe running around the school wasn't such a bad idea."

Juri glanced at him, "You don't like conditioning?"

He groaned, "No! I'm horrible at running and swimming and I'm always the last whenever we do races. It's embarrassing." Takato really was bad at gym. Last time, he was at least five minutes behind the second-to-last runner when they ran cross-country around and through the campus. Most of his classmates had already gone back to the locker rooms, having given up on waiting for him.

Takato watched forlornly as the gym teacher passed him. She was almost done with the student attendance, he noted with some dread. He'd hoped she'd take at least a few minutes longer, anything to cut down on the conditioning time. _Great. I just _know_ I'm going to look stupid out there. At least no one'll laugh at me…I hope._ He scratched the back of his leg nervously with the toe of his shoe.

"I wonder what stations they set up?" Juri asked.

_I wish _I_ knew. Hopefully these'll be something I can do without looking clumsy. Like jump rope. I can jump rope. Please don't let it be the Stair Run. I always fall up those stairs and bang my knees every time we do those!_ Takato made a face. _At least it's the last class._ He supposed he could survive a few cuts and bruises on his knees.

Mrs. Yamachi spoke up, coming to a stop in front of the line with clipboard under her arm. She clapped her hands together in an effort to get her class's attention.

"Okay! Looks like everyone's here." The teacher made some marks on the clipboard she was carrying and looked up. "Today, we're going to be conditioning. We've had the stations set up by numbers. As soon as you complete one station, move to the next. Stations will be marked by a blue traffic cone. The other side of the sign will have instructions for that station's exercise. I expect you all to go through all the stations more than once."

This was answered by a groan from the students. Yamachi only shook her head, her short green hair swinging.

"This is good for you, children!"

Another groan.

"I'll be running through the stations with you. I don't want to see any of you failing to put your full effort into this." Yamachi looked down to consult her clipboard again. "I'll be pairing you all up into groups of two – no, you _can't_ pick your partners – and sending you off. When you find your partner, you may begin the conditioning."

She looked up, and smiled pleasantly, "And don't think that just because you might have been paired up with a friend that you can slack off just because my back's turned. I've got eyes in the back of my head. I see and know all."

This was answered by rebellious mutters.

Takato bit his lip. So much for hiding out somewhere until school ended. Especially if there was a chance his partner might decide to be a tattletale. Guess he could scratch that idea._  
_

Yamachi began to pair off the students,

"Hirokazu and Hiros…Kazu and Ashige…"

The line began to split apart as the pairs were called.

"Juri and Takato."

_ Whew!_ A sigh of relief. _Juri's okay._

He didn't have to look very far for his partner, mostly because she was standing in front of him in the line that was rapidly breaking apart. Juri flashed him a smile he returned nervously (nervously because sometimes her perkiness frightened him and because he just remembered she _loved_ conditioning days. Like really, really love them). Takato flicked a glance at the girl jogging beside him. _Just because _I'm_ not having a blast doesn't mean she can't._

They stopped in front of the first cone, which was labeled as "Coordination". Juri skipped around the bright blue traffic cone and read it out loud.

" 'Coordination: rub your head and pat your stomach. Then spin around twenty times clockwise and twenty more times counter-clockwise. Then pat your head and rub your stomach. Does this three times before moving on to Station Two' "

"You've got to be kidding," Takato muttered.

"That's what the sign says," Juri grinned. "It's almost like a piñata at a party, except without the piñata and the candy. Just lots and lots of spinning!"

Takato sighed for the third time in the period. This wasn't going to be any fun. He hoped he wouldn't get sick with all that spinning.

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_Click._

"Sir!"

_ Click._

"What is it now?"

_ Click._

"I have another wild one. It's managed to avoid the tracers I sent: visual confirmation has failed. There's no known data on this one!"

_Click._

"Try a firewall! Is it going to bio-emerge?"

_ Click._

"I'm not sure yet. The firewall has been breached!"

_ Click. Click._

"Do _something_ about it! I don't want anymore of those things getting through!"

_Click. Click._

"It's getting closer! Trying another lock…lock failed! It's going to bio-emerge!"

_Click. Click. Click._

"Where?"

_ Click. Click. Click_.

"…T-the…Juggernaut, sir!"

_ Click._

"_What?!_ What's going on?!"

_ Click._

"It's bio-emerging, but it's still traveling along its present course at the same time! It's passed right though the Juggernaut!"

_ Click. Click. Click. Click._

"It's gone. I can't track it anymore. It's out of range."

_ Click._

"Shit." Yamaki's hand closed around the cigarette lighter. The clicking abruptly stopped. In the darkness of the deck, he was almost shaking with fury and it was only with considerable effort he refrained from blowing up. He forced his voice to be level. "Is there any damage to the Juggernaut?"

"Running a scan…no, there doesn't appear to be any damage to the exterior or interior," Reika's voice was puzzled.

Yamaki scowled, pulling off his sunglasses. He didn't understand how this could be possible! It reeked of a trap, something just waiting to go wrong. It was a battle to regain his composure. "I want a technical team down there as soon as possible."

"On it!" A rapid-fire spurt of taps from the keyboard. "But where're you going, sir?"

Yamaki replaced his glasses, whirling on his heel. "I'm going to the Juggernaut myself."

He was calm now, though he could still feel the anger burning through him. If something happened to the Juggernaut…

The clicking resumed but there was a nervous undertone in its rapid beat.

_ Click. Click. Click. Click._

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"Takato, you don't look so well."

The Tamer leaned against the wall, seeing an interesting array of stars. "I don't _feel_ so well either."

Juri patted Takato on the back sympathetically. They had gone through the whole conditioning course three times – in fact, he was pretty sure they'd just finished the Coordination station again, which was probably why he was tempted to go in a corner and throw up somewhere. Takato waved away Juri's offers to help him.

"I'm fine. Just…need a moment…to rest." Takato leaned his head against his arm, brown hair damp with sweat.

The girl made a face. "Are you going to barf? You are, aren't you?"

"I'm not! All that spinning just made me dizzy, okay?" Takato summoned up a feeble smile to take the sting out of his words. "And I'm really tired and my knees're killing me because of those stairs, my legs hurt from that sprint and I could go on forever, but I'm not because I think I'm too tired to finish the list."

Juri's face fell and she looked apologetic. "I thought you were doing fine. You looked like you didn't have any problems keeping up with me…if you weren't feeling well, you should've said something."

Takato didn't say anything, instead closing his eyes and concentrating on catching his breath and his sense of balance.

Juri continued, her voice wavering slightly. "I kept going around the course because I thought you were doing okay."

Takato was about to straighten and tell her it wasn't her fault when the ground suddenly gave way underneath his feet.

For a second, he almost _did_ lose his lunch.

He felt himself almost stagger as a sliding disorientation seemed to spin him around (much like Station One had, in fact), pick him up and shake him around like a rag doll. He couldn't see anything but thousands of black and white dots, like static. The sensation like something was glancing over at him. It felt like someone was trying to twist his guts into a pretzel.

In that brief moment, Takato decided he did _not_ like pretzels anymore.

And then it was over. The weird feeling couldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds, though it had seemed like hours to him. He opened his eyes. The ground was safe and firm under his feet, with no signs of suddenly breaking away. He wasn't seeing any static anymore, and his stomach seemed to be its normal shape.

_That's weird. I've never been lightheaded after P.E. I'm not in _that_ bad shape._

"I'm really sorry," Juri was saying.

"It's not your fault, Juri." He pushed himself away from the wall, "Look, I've caught my breath. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I told you, I'm really bad at P.E." Takato shrugged. He didn't feel light-headed anymore, or sick. The only thing wrong was his legs seemed to want to wobble all over the place and he swore he could already feel the bruises forming on his knees.

The gym teacher jogged past them, blowing her whistle and signaling gym was over. Takato started to head toward the locker room, followed by Juri. She headed for the girl's locker room, following her classmates. Takato hurried to the boy's locker room. He couldn't wait to get dressed and headed home. So what if he had a lot of homework?

_All I really want to do is get some sleep. Maybe eat something later._

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Yamaki pocketed his lighter. Standing before the hulking structure of the Juggernaut, he was easily dwarfed in comparison. He craned his head, staring at the machine.

Something was wrong. You just didn't have things jumping around near Hypnos on accident, only something did and now he was worried. He removed his glasses, scowling. _This is ridiculous. The scans didn't show any damage to the Juggernaut. There's nothing wrong with it._ But deep down, he knew he could trust a bunch of technicians who didn't want to pull some overnighters making sure.

_That wild Digimon_. It passed _through_ the Juggernaut in the middle of bio-emerging…yet there was no sign or mark anything had entered or exited the room. He couldn't explain his uneasiness. He knew they'd hunt down the creature, even if they didn't have any data on it. Delete the disgusting thing. The initiation of the Juggernaut plan was scheduled for next week: he promised himself to make a change in that.

It must be earlier. Next week was too late.

_The Juggernaut plan must be initiated in a few days. Otherwise we risk the chance of things like this happening again._

Maybe this time they'd gotten lucky and the Juggernaut was fine, if the techs really were on the ball. There weren't any imaginary boogeymen behind the closet door.

Even if Yamaki knew better. The imaginary boogeymen were real. It was his life's work now to destroy them before they could get out into the Real World.

He turned around, waiting for the tech team to do a full antagonistic. Pushing the Juggernaut plan sounded better and better.

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Takato waved as Juri disappeared around the corner. He let his hand drop to his side and started walking down the sidewalk. It was starting to get dark and he wanted to get home. Takato didn't want to admit it, but he realized he was still a little afraid of the dark. He hurried down the street. Could he be any more of a kid?

A kid who was going to have a ton of homework if he didn't get home as fast as he could, he thought. If he did his homework as fast as he could, he could go to sleep earlier.

_This is a first. I actually _want_ do my homework. What's this world coming to?_

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A pair of gleaming blue eyes opened. For a second, the creature didn't know where it was, the environment looked completely foreign to it. It suffered a moment of intense disorientation before it regained its bearings.

Him. _I'm not an "it"._

The form shifted, rolling over onto his stomach. He needed to get up. He had spent too much time lying here in the shadows of the alley. He hadn't counted on the transition from the Digital World to the Real World to be so difficult. It hadn't helped he spent a good deal of his journey having to evade those tracers and a firewall. _But I'm here now. I mustn't delay any longer. _After all this time, now he could prove himself as worthy.

He got to his feet, shaking out the cramps forming in the hocks of his cloven hooves. The sun slowly drifted toward the horizon. He didn't venture out of the shadows. Not until it was dark would he make his move.

The four-legged shadow snorted, blowing a gust of steam from his nostrils, past an ugly set of fangs. Everything had been going moderately well up to the point when he had taken on a physical form, but the energy he had taken from that machine had scrambled some of his data. He had been flung to the alley by the force and his being had swung out of control, torn in two, leaving his body in one place and his consciousness in another, if only for a second.

In this case, it had been a good thing. He had, for a brief moment, accidentally come into contact with one of his targets: a small boy, one of _them_. The human hadn't even noticed his presence. He couldn't have known someone was taking a look into his recent memories. Oblivious, as most humans went. And completely disgusting.

He loathed humans. Nothing good come out of a Digimon's contact with them. It was one reason why he'd volunteered for the mission. The other being that he just loved to see them squirm. He had yet to meet a trustworthy human that didn't think only in the terms of _me-me-me_, like the self, pathetic life forms they really were. _  
_

The blue-eyed creature flicked its tail. What was that boy's Digimon? Guilmon?

_ Wouldn't this Takato just love a visit from his precious Guilmon tonight?_

_Guilmon loves to play, doesn't he? How about a game of _my_ choosing?_

He brought up the image of Guilmon from the copied memories: basically a red dinosaur with black markings. Easy to imitate. He closed his sky-blue eyes and concentrated. Transformation to mimic another was a skill few Digimon knew, but his Mistress taught him well. This would be like all the other times. Focused. Concentrated on melding his form to be an exact replica…

It was close to ten at night when "Guilmon" slipped out of the alley. He bounded down the darkened street, the moon painting his hide a bright red.

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"Takato."

Takato rolled over onto his side, his covers wrapping around him. He mumbled into his pillow, still half-asleep.

"Takato, wake up."

Something about the voice was awfully familiar. Takato made a sleepy face into the depths of his pillow. His mom? No, and it wasn't his dad either. Come to think of it, it didn't even sound human. Which left…

"Guilmon?" Takato opened his eyes blearily.

The red dragon's head stared at him from over the railings of his bed, startling him. He did the intelligent thing and fell out of his bed, landing with a thud on the ground.

"Ow!" the Tamer rubbed his aching butt. That was _not_ a fun wakeup call. Despite the pain, he was still sleepy. Crawling back into bed looked really good right now. "Guilmon, what're you doing here? You're supposed to be in the park."

A moment of silence and then Guilmon rumbled, "I wanna play, Takatomon."

Takato picked himself off the floor, yawning. He glanced at Guilmon curiously.

"I thought you stopped calling me that."

"Sorry. Guess I forgot."

Takato shrugged, not noticing the slip. He vaguely wondered how Guilmon even got in the house, Takato reaching up to run his hands through his shock of hair as he yawned.

"How about tomorrow, Guilmon? I'm really tired right now."

"No, right _now_." Guilmon circled around him, and planted his wedge-shaped head in the small of the boy's back, nudging him. "We need to go to that tow – that tall thing. There's another one of _them_."

"A Digimon? Why didn't you just say that earlier? And what happened to wanting to play?" Takato was already throwing on his clothes, picking up his D-Arc. He attempted to get his cards together while pulling on his goggles.

"Play after."

"Which tower?" He finally managed to pull on his shoes, hopping on one foot. Guilmon stared at him with a blank expression until he rephrased his question. "Which tall thing?"

Guilmon pointed with a claw at the tall structure in the distance.

"That's Tokyo Tower! They're doing road construction there, Guilmon. It's going to be closed off! And it's really far away!"

Guilmon shook his head, the pupils in his blue eyes contracting. "I can carry you and I can move fast. We _need_ to go there."

"Okay. I guess I can't talk you into letting me go back to sleep?"

This was met by silence.

Takato slung his box of cards under his arm, shooting an almost confused look at his Digimon. "That was a _joke_, Guilmon. What happened to your sense of humor?"

Guilmon only snorted. Takato shrugged and awkwardly got on the Digimon's back. Guilmon opened the window, stepping outside onto the shingled roof. He didn't have any trouble carrying his Tamer, despite the fact Guilmon wasn't much bigger than him. With a powerful leap, the red Digimon leapt to the next rooftop, only spending a few seconds to regain his balance before making another sudden leap. It was all Takato could do to hold on to Guilmon.

He didn't see any digital fog surrounding Tokyo Tower, but he didn't question his partner._ It might just be _near_ the Tower…?_ Takato trusted Guilmon to know what he was doing.

As they got closer to Tokyo Tower, the digital field became more visible. It actually rather small, compared to the other digital fields Takato had seen, but it definitely looked like digital fog.

"Are you ready?" Takato shouted above the wind rushing in his ears.

"Yup!" Another bound and they were sailing through the air.

"Great!"

Takato pulled down his goggles, clutching onto Guilmon as they landed with a jolt. _I don't remember Guilmon being a long jumper…I guess he got stronger and I never noticed it._ Guilmon leaped again, higher this time. Takato squinted as the lights of Tokyo Tower came closer.

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd about Guilmon tonight, however. The feeling was growing stronger as they headed straight for a landing in the digital field. _Something's wrong…_

It suddenly struck him the moment they flew into the digital field.

Guilmon never had blue eyes.

_This isn't Guilmon!_

There wasn't any wild Digimon in the digital fog. He didn't have time for any other thought as the two vanished into the false digital field.

When the fog cleared, there was no sign of Takato or Guilmon.

**To be continued...**

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	2. Day 2: Absence and Delay

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own Digimon.  
**Author's Note**: Third season, centered around Takato and Jenrya (and one more character). Switches to the other characters from time to time. Takes just before Yamaki sets forth his Juggernaut plan (like, a day or two before the Juggernaut is activated. Don't really know the exact episode, guess between Episodes 12 and 14) **departs from canon from there and goes off in a different direction**).

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effect.

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Digital Shuffle  
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**Day 2 – Absence and Delay**

Another sunrise.

Renamon hid a smile, the fox-Digimon leaning back as the first sliver of light cut across the horizon. She had a good view of the city from where she sat on the wall, her paws swinging against the surface, with Ruki's house only a few yards away. It was a morning ritual, sitting on the wall before everyone else was awake and watching dawn approach. The lightening sky illuminated the expanse of the city, reflecting off the shingled rooftops.

So peaceful. It wasn't that she _disliked_ being Ruki's partner (the exact opposite, actually), but sometimes she felt she needed to be alone to think about things she felt Ruki probably wouldn't understand. There were simply some things she knew she couldn't talk about with her partner. Renamon shook her snout. _Still, most of the time up I'm up here, I don't think of _anything_._ _I guess I can't just admit I like watching the sunrise._

The Digimon drew up her long hind legs to her chin, wrapping her arms around them. She blessed her good sense of balance. She had yet to topple off the wall.

Renamon's claws reached up to scratch her neck. The sun continued to rise, a stray gust of wind rustling the trees within the courtyard. She glanced over at the rustling foliage, smirking.

"Are you quite done with sneaking about?"

There was a harsh bark of laughter from the tree. "I'm gettin' a kick watchin' ya get all angsty out here. Yer no better than that human of yers."

Renamon shrugged, her fur rippling with the movement, "I would hardly call this being 'angsty'. More like appreciating beauty."

"Yeah, right, call it whatever ya want."

Renamon turned back to watching dawn break. "Why don't you come out and join me? I don't bite."

Suspicious silence, followed by another rustling of leaves. The owner of the voice stepped out, the branch bowing under Impmon's weight as he hopped lightly from the tree to the shingled top of the wall. The black virus-Digimon planted his gloved paws on his hips as he swaggered toward the other Digimon.

"I'd like to see ya try to eat me," Impmon sniffed.

"You're not worth the effort."

Impmon plopped down on the wall next to her.

"Ya still hangin' out with those dumb humans?"

"You still full of hot air?" Renamon replied pleasantly.

Impmon scowled at her retort, but said nothing in return. He rubbed absently at the face pattern on his stomach, staring at the rising sun. Renamon didn't attempt to pick up the conversation, her bushy tail swishing behind her. She didn't know why Impmon decided to drop in and she wasn't particularly interested in knowing either. She found him to be rather irritating, although she had (surprisingly) some fairly intelligent conversations with him in the past. At the moment, she didn't feel like bantering.

The sun was almost completely up. She was going to have to get down off the wall before people started going outside. It wasn't a good idea to let people see her.

"I don't suppose ya got the brains to ask me why I came here, d'ya?"

"I can't say I care what you came here for."

Impmon kicked his feet against the sloping shingles, wearing a smug expression on his face, "Oh, I wouldn't get yer fur-coat all bunched up just yet, Renamon. I just thought I'd share with ya something interesting I saw last night, but I guess yer not interested."

Renamon was sorely tempted to roll her eyes at this. _Oh, let me guess, this is probably something that will supposedly convince me to abandon Ruki. Doesn't he ever learn?_

"Surprise me," she said dryly.

Impmon crossed his arms across his chest, looking askance at the other Digimon. "Well, well, well, so ya _are_ interested. Ya plannin' to pay me for this information? It ain't free."

"Pay you? What could a Digimon like you possibly want money for?"

Impmon got to his feet huffily. He glared at Renamon.

"Money? Who said anything about money? I'm talkin' about bringin' me some grub!"

"You can't get your own food?"

Impmon sneered. He was starting to lose his patience. "Look, d'ya wanna know or not?! I think this is something you or rather, that 'tamer' of yours, are goin' to _really_ want t'know!"

Renamon considered this. Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her and she wondered what exactly Impmon had to tell her that was so important. What did he have to say that could possibly interest Renamon or Ruki? _Maybe I should hear him out. At least his ramblings should prove to be amusing at the very least._ Besides, Ruki's grandmother had made a huge dinner for the family last night. Renamon was sure no one would mind if some of the leftovers were gone.

"I don't suppose you happen to be partial to shrimp dumplings," Renamon looked at the demon-type with a sidelong glance. "Do you?"

"I might be." Impmon turned away indifferently, but the growling of his stomach betrayed his true feelings. He froze.

"Might be, huh?" Renamon stood up, bearing her small fangs in a grin. "Sounds like it's more than a 'might be'."

Impmon only grunted.

"Wait here."

Renamon hopped down from the wall and vanished. She reappeared in the house's pantry, her paws landing lightly on the polished wood. _Where did they put those dumplings?_ She struggled awkwardly with the doors, her large paws and claws proving to be unwieldy with the small handles of the cabinet. No, not here. The fox-Digimon turned and began searching through the darkened room, her keen eyes having little trouble seeing her surroundings. _What about that cold box? What does Ruki call it - the "re-frig-er-a-tor"? Yes, I think that's it._ She turned and opened it.

"Ah." Renamon pulled out the small plate, spotting the familiar shape of the dumplings through the plastic wrap.

She vanished again, reappearing behind Impmon. His eyes visibly lit up at the sight of the shrimp dumplings

"Here." She held out the plate.

Impmon snatched the platter from her, tearing through the plastic wrap. He began to shovel cold dumplings into his mouth. Renamon crouched down beside him, waiting, until, with a satisfied burp, the smaller Digimon handed back the empty plate. He wiped his mouth with the back of one gloved paw, brushing away the crumbs.

"Well? What is it you have to tell me?"

Impmon let out another tiny belch. "Hold yer horses, I'm gettin' to it."

He stood up, taking his time as he stretched his black limbs lazily.

"Just a little bit of advice. Ya might wanna check out that building those humans call Tokyo Tower. Might find something interesting there."

"Like what?"

Impmon shook a finger at Renamon. "Oh, I'm not gonna spoil the surprise. Just sayin' ya should check it out. Might want to call those other loser 'tamers', if ya can find _all_ of 'em." He smugly made it obvious he knew more than he was letting on.

"That doesn't help."

"I ain't here to help ya." Impmon pushed himself of the wall and down onto the pavement below. "But thanks for the shrimp."

Renamon watched him saunter down the sidewalk, bewildered. What could have happened at Tokyo Tower? She knew the building had been closed for several months for renovation (Ruki made a remark about it a while ago – as far as she knew, no one had entered or exited the building for months and there was no work being done whatsoever) and now there was something having to do with repaving the roads, which further closed off the Tower.

_Besides, from what I know of Impmon, he usually doesn't try to help us out unless it's really something important._ _He may be irritating and tiresome, but as far as I know, he hasn't lied to us…not that we've interacted with him on the best of terms…_

_Maybe I _should_ tell Ruki about this. If a Digimon's running about, it could get messy._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya quickly glanced down at his watch. Almost eight. _Shoot, I shouldn't have overslept!_ He was going to have to pedal a lot faster if he wanted to make it to school on time. It didn't help Terriermon was riding in his backpack. The boy leaned forward as his bicycle careened down the sidewalk.

"Hey, could you slow down? I'm about to get carsick back here!"

"Sorry, Terriermon, but I'm gonna be late for school. Besides, you can't get carsick. You're not even in a car."

"Fine, then I'm gonna get bicycle-sick."

"Look, I can't slow down. Being late for class is one thing, but being late for the beginning of school is totally different!"

He could see his school in the distance. Terriermon mumbled something in response and slid further into his backpack. He was still sleepy and looking forward to taking a nap in the warm backpack, a luxury his human didn't have. Jenrya took another glance at his watch. At least ten minutes before the bell rang. He'd have enough time to get to class and in his desk, though he'd be pulling it really close.

_ What was it with pulling things really close these days? First the Digimon battles, and now school._

He wheeled his bicycle through the gates, heading toward the small complex where other children with bikes were heading.

" 'Morning, Jenrya."

Jenrya got off his bike and nodded to the other student. " "Morning, Kenta."

The Tamer bent to snap the lock of the chain around his bicycle, as Kenta stepped back. Jenrya didn't really know Kenta that well. Sure, he had some classes with him, but other than the fact Kenta was one of Takato's other friends, Jenrya couldn't say he knew that much about him.

After a minute of Jenrya fiddling around with the lock, Kenta cleared his throat.

"Hey Jenrya, uh, I don't suppose you've seen Takato, have you?"

Jenrya looked up from the lock. "No. Why?"

"Well, he was supposed to meet me and Hirokazu in the park today to return my Power-Booster card. He didn't come so I was wondering if you walked with him to school or anything."

"I haven't seen him." Jenrya said. "I bet he slept in on accident."

"Oh, shoot." Kenta frowned. He suddenly brightened, "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Could you tell Takato to meet me and Hirokazu at the park after school? I need that card."

"Sure."

Kenta took off then, freeing him up to book it to class. Jenrya hurried to his desk near the back of the room. The other students were slowly drifting toward their seats. He pulled out his notebooks from his backpack, almost grinning at the sight of Terriermon snoring softly among his folders and the sweater he packed. _Aw, just like a big teddy bear, if teddy bears suddenly turned green and sprouted rabbit ears. _A glance out the window showed a sky that was cloudless, with only a light breeze.

Jenrya turned his head to look at Takato's empty desk a few seats away. He swiveled forward as the bell rang. Okay, Takato was officially late.

"Class, quiet down!" The history teacher stepped in, closing the door behind him. He pushed up his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and moved behind his desk. The laughter died down as he glanced about the room, "Hmm, looks like everyone's here except for Takato. Who has their Meji timelines? Let's see a show of hands."

Most of the class raised their hands. The few who didn't looked sheepish or panicked: they probably procrastinated or forgot about the assignment altogether.

Mr. Mori counted the hands and nodded with approval.

"Good. That's most of you. I want you to pass them up to the front of your row. As for you who didn't do your timelines, I'm disappointed. I gave this project out a week ago and said repeatedly it'd be due next Thursday. I'll be giving out extra credit, but I don't want you thinking you can all slack off because I'm doing this. I'll let this go for now, but I want all of you that didn't turn in this project to start writing your assignments down in your homework folders from now on. I know you're still kids, but you're going to be teenagers, so you're going to have to treat school seriously."

He gestured to his desk. "Please put the timelines up here."

As soon as the boys and girls in the front row set the packets of paper on his desk, Mr. Mori rubbed his hands together.

"Class, turn to page seventy-five. I'll give you until eight-thirty to finish the section and then I'll answer any questions you have." Mr. Mori sat down in his chair, the wheels squeaking as his weight settled into it. He picked up a marker and picked up the first paper from the stack.

Jenrya reached under his desk and pulled out the history book. As he started reading on the chapter, he couldn't help glancing over repeatedly at Takato's empty seat. _Where _is_ he?_ Jenrya's eyebrows furrowed as he turned the page. Takato was rarely, if ever, absent from school. He seemed perfectly fine the day before, so he probably wasn't sick.

Jenrya looked up as the door to the classroom slid open and one of the women he recognized as security let herself in. He wondered who was in trouble now, because the Ms. Hanatora only came into classrooms to talk to problem children. At least, that was what he heard.

He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Ms. Hanatora tapped Mr. Mori on the shoulder, then ducked his head and pretended to look busy as the history teacher scanned the room.

"Jenrya, please come up here. Ms. Hanatora wants to talk to you."

He froze. At first, he wasn't sure he'd heard right. Did Mr. Mori just say security was here pull him out of class? No, that couldn't be right. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong. Unless…_maybe it's about the wild Digimon? They might think _I'm_ the one at fault! How am I gonna explain all this?_ He stood up despite his doubts, and made his way to the front of the classroom, ignoring the giggles and sniggers and whispered questions.

"Way to go, Jenrya!"

"Good one, Lee!"

"Hey, what'd you do?"

Jenrya tried to control the burning flush of embarrassment he could feel rising on his face. He turned his back on the rest of the class, hoping vaguely that if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him. Stupid theory, actually, but it made him feel a little better.

"You're Jenrya Lee?" Ms. Hanatora, a short woman wearing her trademark French braid, asked.

"Yeah."

"I want to ask you a few questions outside, okay, Jenrya?"

"Okay. Sure."

"Follow me." She turned on her heel, opening the sliding door as he shuffled warily after her. The woman closed the door after him and turned to face him. The indoor corridor was empty, leaving only her and Jenrya.

Her stern face relaxed slightly as she saw the stiff expression on his face, "Relax. You're not in trouble."

Ms. Hanatora continued, crossing her arms across her chest, "As I said before, I want to ask you some questions. I've been told you know Takato Matsuda, Jenrya. You're best friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did he ever say anything about going to someone's house? When did you last see him?"

"No. Um…yesterday, right before the last class." _What's going on?_

"His gym class. Did he say anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nope. I mean, I don't think so. We talked about homework."

"So he wasn't acting strange or doing anything he wouldn't normally do?"

"No."

Ms. Hanatora nodded, "So he was perfectly fine… he didn't talk to anyone you didn't know?"

Jenrya shook his head.

"You didn't see any strangers watching him, did you?"

"No." Jenrya frowned, "Uh, can I ask why you're asking me all these questions?"

The security woman stared at him for a long moment with an expression that was clearly wondering if she could trust him or not. He did his best to look trustworthy. She sighed, giving in.

"Takato Matsuda's missing. His parents just called in."

"He's _missing_?!" Jenrya gaped. This was the last thing he expected.

Hanatora ran a hand through her bangs, showing her stress for the first time. "Yes, he's missing. I just said that."

"When?" His heart felt like it was skipping all over the place in confusion. Missing? Like, run-away missing?

"Since last night." Ms. Hanatora started to massage her temples. "But his parents aren't completely sure what happened. They had dinner with him and his mother said she even tucked him in bed, but when she went to wake him up this morning, the window was open and he was gone."

Jenrya couldn't say anything, too stunned to come up with a reply. He had to remind himself to breathe. This news hit him harder than he would've thought, and his imagination suddenly decided to run crazy, bringing up all sorts of unpleasant images. Ms. Hanatora noticed his expression and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Jenrya. He's probably just gone to a friend's house or something. We'll find him."

She turned him toward the classroom, both hands steering him. "Look, I want you to go back to class. Keep this to yourself. If there's any more news, I'll come for you, okay? He sounds like he's a smart, stable kid."

"Yeah…"

"Exactly. He's not going to do anything stupid. His parents have called the police. Everything's under control."

Hanatora opened the door. "Don't worry. It's Going To Be Fine. Just concentrate on doing your school work, okay?"

Jenrya was propelled back into the classroom. Dazed, he slipped back to his seat, oblivious to the questions of the neighboring students. He was having a hard time comprehending what was happening. Takato, _missing_? Had he run away? Or worse? A sudden thought. Ms. Hanatora said the window to Takato's room had been left open. Had he…jumped? _No_, the logical part of Jenrya's mind answered, _otherwise they would've found a big mess on the sidewalk_. They wouldn't bother looking for Takato if he was a splat on the ground. So where was he?

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. One thing at a time. Count to ten. _Calm down_. _He's not _dead_. He's just missing_. Knowing Takato, he wouldn't be surprised if he'd wandered over to someone's house. That or he'd probably run after some wild Digimon and ended up on the other side of the city. _That's probably it. That's what happened when Growlmon digivolved, wasn't it? _

Wait a minute, what about Guilmon? Takato wouldn't have done anything without him. Maybe he knew where Takato was_. _Jenrya glanced again at Takato's empty desk as the teacher began to drone on about the changes in culture during the Meiji era. No goofy, goggle-headed kid hunched over his desk and doodling pictures of Digimon. No notes filled with funny pictures of the Tamers in battle being tossed onto Jenrya's desk.

Again, Jenrya told himself to be calm. _I have to think of this on another level too…if Takato's missing, this also means we're short one Digimon as well, because I don't think Guilmon's going to want to fight without Takato. __ The wild Digimon we fight only seem to be getting stronger – we need all the help we can get._ Jenrya pretended to pay attention to Mr. Mori's lecture, still wanted to bury his face in his hands and push away his frustration. He couldn't ignore the fact Takato had, more than once, saved both Ruki and Jenrya when things seemed hopeless. It was partially due to Takato's pushing and prodding that he'd been able to trust Terriermon and allow him to digivolve to Gargomon. Guilmon, when he digivolved, was extremely powerful as Growlmon as well. Jenrya could always count on Takato and Guilmon to back him up if Terriermon couldn't handle the situation by himself.

Now Takato was missing – he wasn't sure how long.

"You're all going to need to remember these ten important similarities between the Meji era and our time." Mr. Mori was pointing at something he had written on the whiteboard, twirling the dry-erase marker in his hand. "We're going to be wrapping up our section on the Meji era by Wednesday. Be prepared for an exam on chapters fourteen to sixteen."

Jenrya looked up at the clock. The class – to his surprise – was almost over. He'd been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed the time go by.

"No homework tonight." Mr. Mori waited until some of the cheers died down, turning around and eyeing the clock. He swiveled to face the class again, and smiled. "See you all tomorrow. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Jenrya stood up and followed the other kids out, his eyes downcast. For the first time in his life, he was completely unsure what he was going to do next._ How should I deal with this?_

_All I know is that I'm going to have to tell Ruki and Guilmon, but then what?_

A question he knew he didn't have an answer to.

X

Yamaki fought to keep his face impassive. If he had a choice in the matter, he wouldn't have to deal with these squabbling fools. They knew nothing about the importance of Hypnos, and rarely, if ever, took his warnings seriously. It was a pain to deal with them, but Yamaki already knew he didn't have much of a choice. They did, after all, have a heavy hand in the funding that supported Hypnos. If it hadn't been for their reserves, Yamaki knew he wouldn't have been successful in managing the organization. Hypnos wouldn't have even gotten off the drawing board if he hadn't gone to the four for sponsorship. In the end, no matter what he ranted about, they were the ones holding true power.

He had been inside Hypnos for only an hour and already he'd been called into a meeting. Normally he would take his time but he was told the meeting would be dealing with his request to change the Juggernaut initiation schedule.

Which was why he was struggling now to keep a neutral expression as the sponsors bickered back and fourth on the large screen in front of him. He'd been sitting in front of the conference network screen for thirty minutes now without any relevant answers. It was starting to get more than a little irritating.

" – it's always golf, golf, golf!" The woman said in her grating, high-pitched voice. Yamaki never bothered to attach a name to her face, and so he now tagged her with a new name: Ms. B. He thought sourly._ B for Bitch._

"Nothing wrong with enjoying my vacation," replied the other mildly. _You're a fool_, Yamaki said mentally at him,_ so you're Mr. F._

"Now's not the time for arguing," added in another, more chubby man from the bottom screen, fiddling with the tip of his scraggly beard. He had barely managed to squeeze his bulk into the chair he was now sitting in, dusting his suit with a layer of powdered sugar from the pastry he was holding in one hand.

_Oh, _this_ fat ass's easy._ _He has no clue what's going on_. Yamaki could see that he had blundered his miserable way through life. Completely oblivious to everything but the most important. No doubt he inherited his position, because Yamaki couldn't see how the man could have possibly risen to power on his own. _He's more suited to stuffing his face than running a company,_ Yamaki noted, _the Blundering Pig_.

The fourth sponsor's window on the large screen was located in the upper left-hand corner. He leaned forward, adjusting the small glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Besides the fact his face was completely forgettable, Nagamora was probably the most focused of the group, although he had a tendency to blend into the background. It wasn't an infrequent occurrence for everyone to forget he was there, ironic considering he was the one with the most hands in the Hypnos cookie jar. Yamaki never forgot who wielded the most power of the three sponsors. Without Nagamora, Hypnos would fold in on itself.

Nagamora was the only one Yamaki had anything that looked like respect for. He still owed him.

"This isn't the place for petty bickering," Nagamora said. Before anyone could reply, he turned his eyes on Yamaki. "Yesterday, you filed a request for a change in the Juggernaut schedule. What day did you want to change the initiation to? Tuesday?"

"Monday," Yamaki corrected him.

"Monday then."

_"Monday_?!" B exploded, wearing an offended expression. She looked ready to gouge out the screen with her lacquered nails. "Are you crazy?"

"I don't think he's crazy, Lynn," interjected F calmly.

Nagamora ignored them. "Monday's just not possible, Yamaki." He held up his hand before he could demand why. "In fact, the original Friday date isn't going to be any good either. Looking at your reports, it appears the Juggernaut isn't one hundred percent complete." He glanced expectantly at the screen square next to his.

B spoke up, taking the cue and slipping back into business. "I've gone over the reports as well, and I agree. With how much resources we've pooled into Hypnos it must be complete."

The other two representatives nodded.

Nagamora went on. "If we were to reschedule things, that means we would need to pour more funds into this little project of yours simply so we can get the Juggernaut fully operational. That means we'd have to hire more personnel for you to complete the Juggernaut. Sustaining the Juggernaut's power source itself is already costing us more than you originally projected."

"From what I've seen, there hasn't been much of a threat from these digital monsters of yours," the Blundering Pig remarked. He dabbed at his scraggly beard with a paper napkin, dusting his trousers further with sugar.

"We simply _don't_ have the funds to speed up the work on the Juggernaut, Yamaki. We don't even have enough to meet the Friday deadline."

Yamaki frowned. "But –"

"It's already been decided. We're going to continue to fund Hypnos, but production on the Juggernaut must stop. It's eating up too much manpower and money."

Yamaki almost blew up at Nagamora. Somehow he managed to keep a straight face. He couldn't, however, control the small muscle that ticked in his cheek. "When can I expect the Juggernaut to be complete?"

"If we continue to run into these problems, probably a year or two."

"A _year_!" Yamaki exclaimed.

"But that's just an estimate, Yamaki. I personally believe it will only be a few months. We need some time to get our own matters back on track." Nagamora smiled, "Besides, what's a few more months? I'm sure you can handle any more of these digital monsters if they crop up."

B grinned snidely, "Maybe by then I'll finally be able to see one of these things for myself."

Yamaki said nothing, thinking this over. So that's how it was. They were having their own problems and decided to sweep his "little" organization under the rug until they dealt with their issues. There was no point in exploding at them, though he was sorely tempted to. If the Juggernaut was completed and functional, then Hypnos would be obsolete because all the Digimon would be deleted, _gone_. They apparently didn't see it would cost more to continue to sponsor his organization then to just finish the huge machine.

To make it even more infuriating, he couldn't go to anyone else for sponsorship. Nagamora was the only one who took the threat seriously and he had all the right connections.

Still…if Hypnos could still receive money somehow, like through a third party, things could get back on track. If he kissed the right asses. Maybe it would be possible to complete the Juggernaut without their aid –

His idea was blown completely to pieces as Nagamora continued, "In the meanwhile, the Juggernaut is to be sealed up until then."

Yamaki stared, half way out of his seat. No, he couldn't be serious! Didn't he see the Juggernaut was a weapon that would drive away those Digimon once and for all? And they didn't know yet about the Wild One that got through yesterday, that it passed through the Juggernaut. Yamaki's loud protest was on the tip of his tongue. _But I can't do anything: in fact, knowing them, I bet they're sealing it up right _now_._ Despite the arguments, the four certainly weren't slow to put words into action.

Nagamora knew him better than the other Four did and knew he would've attempted to disobey orders. _So he's one step ahead of me._ Yamaki should have known better. He cursed his own judgment. He'd assumed since Nagamora looked bland and forgettable, he would be happy to let this sit for a week or so. When the Four wanted to move, they could move and did.

They had to have someone in Hypnos keeping a close eye on him. Nagamora was obviously the leader of the Four: the other three were probably just cronies put in to fill the positions. Yamaki knew he'd be caught the moment he attempted to break into the Juggernaut's room to complete its construction. He was again reminded of the fact he hadn't been the one to hire all those security personnel watching the building. He didn't particularly care to be replaced by anyone else either, which was exactly what would happen unless he complied with orders.

He sank back into his seat, disgruntled.

Nagamora nodded again, still wearing the fatherly expression. "You have to understand this must be done, Yamaki. If your project drains the reserves, then where will Hypnos be? Nowhere, which is something I don't think you or I would look forward to. Hypnos can really go somewhere…with the right management, that is."

B only smirked, saying nothing. F eyed his bag of golf clubs longingly. The Blundering Pig finished off his pastry.

"Are you saying I'm not suitable for this position?" Yamaki asked.

"Oh, no, of course not. But we mustn't rush things." Nagamora said soothingly, "I have a feeling we can recover quickly. We will resume the completion of the Juggernaut. But now isn't the time. Understand?"

"Yes."_ No. You're the ones that don't understand._

"Good." Nagamora's screen flickered and shut off, followed by the other three. The conference room was again bathed in darkness, save for the tiny digital command blinking at the bottom of the large screen.

Yamaki reached over and turned off the screen. Leaned back into his seat again. He definitely wasn't pleased with the way things were turning out, but it looked like he was going to have to comply. He didn't have much of a choice. Yamaki desperately wanted to get angry, to blow up at something, but he decided he was going to need a different approach. After all those times at losing self-control at those meetings, he hadn't managed to pound his warnings into their skulls. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

He hadn't smoked in years, but he needed to think.

Because unless he did something, more oDigimon would cross into the Real World. He had carefully omitted from his reports that the frequency of the monster appearances was growing. The Yuggoth system alone wouldn't be able to deal with them if things kept at this rate, especially if the Juggernaut was out of commission. The data would continue to slip through his grasp, into the Real World. He even found the original Digimon programmers, but they took forever to come up with the code he requested.

He let out a curl of smoke, staring off into the darkness meditatively. So he was going to have to rely on the Yuggoth system for a few more months, at least until he found a way around the obstacles closing off the Juggernaut from him and his goal. He was going to have to deal with the creatures until then.

The very idea that those obscene collections of data would be running around for a few more months was already making his skin crawl.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Something wrong? Come on, Jenrya, I'm asking you a question!"

Jenrya frowned, trying to wave Terriermon away. He started to reach over and tug at the boy's pant-leg, causing the Digimon to lean into view. Jenrya warningly shook his head down at his partner. If he continued to try to rattle off questions at the Tamer, someone was bound to see or hear him.

"Hold on a second."

Terriermon huffed, flopping down to sit against the wall. He always got like that when Jenrya was busy and not answering his questions.

"Look, I'll tell you as soon as I'm done."

The Tamer stood in front of the payphone. Jenrya knew he should be in the classroom eating with the other kids. Skipping lunch was the least of his problems; he was more concerned with contacting Ruki. Jenrya balanced haphazardly on one leg, holding the phone book on his other knee. He checked his watch. Lunch break had just started. He had at least thirty-five more minutes before the teacher sent someone out to go look for him and then he would have to return to the classroom.

_ Ruki, Ruki…I think her family name's Makino. Knowing her, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't even in the phonebook: I _know_ she isn't listed in her school's directory…_

Jenrya turned the page, holding the phone pinned between his ear and shoulder as he looked for the other Tamer's number. He wasn't expecting Ruki to actually pick up the phone, but he hoped her parents or someone would be able to give him her cell number. It'd be just his luck if she didn't have a cell phone or had turned it off.

There it was. Ruki Makino. He slipped in his change and dialed the number. Hoped he hadn't called the wrong house.

The tone rang and was picked up after the second ring.

"Hello?"

Jenrya didn't recognize the voice. It was an older woman, deeper in tone and certainly more open and friendly then the other Tamer's. "Hi, this's Jenrya Lee. I'm a friend of Ruki's." Okay, so he was stretching the truth just a little bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jenrya, Ruki's not here, she's at school. I'm her grandmother."

"Is there any way I can contact her?" Jenrya asked. "I have to talk to her about something. It's sort've important."

"Well, she _does_ have a cell phone…" Ruki's grandmother paused, and there was a rustling of paper from the other end of the line. "She sometimes turns it off though – she says it gets irritating sometimes."

"Is there any other way to contact her?"

"No, but I can still give you her number though."

"Thanks. That would really help."

More rustling of paper from the other end of the line. "Oh dear, I don't think it's here. Could you please hold on a minute, Jenrya? I think I left the phone number list in the kitchen."

"Sure."

Jenrya waited, turning away from the payphone and glancing around. The corridor wasn't crowded – thankfully – so he probably wouldn't have to worry about anyone overhearing the conversation. One plus of the day, which looked to be turning out rather poorly: not only was Takato missing, but in all the rest of his classes, he had been either loaded down with homework and projects or made to participate in group work with partners who decided it would be better if he did all the work for them.

Ruki's grandmother picked up the phone again. "I'm sorry for making you wait, but I found the list."

She rattled off the cell number. Jenrya, glancing about, decided that his hand was the only available option, and began scrawling down the numbers on his palm.

"Do you need me to repeat it again?"

"No, I got it." Jenrya said, "Thanks. Sorry for making you go through all this trouble"

"Trouble? Oh, this isn't any trouble: I'm glad I could help," she trailed off, "It's just that we usually don't get that many calls for Ruk. Look, if you're ever in the area, please feel free to drop by. Ruki seems like such a lonely girl sometimes…I think she would enjoy the company."

_ I wouldn't know about _that_._ But Jenrya only said, "Maybe I will. Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

She hung up after they exchanged good-byes. The conversation had been short, which was good, considering Jenrya probably hadn't put in enough change in the payphone for anything longer. He fished about in his pocket for more money, still holding the phone on his shoulder.

"Jenrya, come on, what's going on?" Terriermon asked, keeping his voice low.

Jenrya slipped his change into the payphone's terminal.

"I'm calling Ruki, Terriermon," he whispered back.

"Why?"

"Something came up," Jenrya hesitated, realizing something as he punched in the number he wrote down on the palm of his hand. "Hey, I don't suppose you could help me out?"

"With what?" The Digimon perked up. He was getting bored sitting around.

"Could you look for Guilmon? I want you to tell him something for me."

"Okay."

"Tell him to meet me in the tunnel right after school," Jenrya pulled off his watch as he spoke, "I'm getting out a little late because I've got clean-up duty today. Here, I'm gonna give you my watch: oh, and take my lunch, too. He probably didn't get any bread from Takato today, so he's probably gonna be really hungry."

Terriermon took the watch, looping it around one ear. He then pulled out Jenrya's knapsack from his backpack, carrying it around his smaller shoulders like a large satchel. He fixed a look and a frown on his partner.

"You are going to tell me what's going on, won't you?"

"Yeah. Just not right now," Jenrya glanced down the hall, listening to the dialing tone, "Look, the hall's empty – you better get going. Try not to let anyone see Guilmon or you, okay?"

"Gotcha."

Terriermon headed down the hallway as fast as his stubby hind legs could carry him. He rounded a corner and disappeared from Jenrya's sight. The Tamer turned back to the payphone, hand tapping impatiently on the plastic surface. _Come on, pick _up_. Don't tell me private schools have totally different lunch periods._

Someone finally answered, "What_?_"

Oh, that was definitely Ruki, right down to the ingrained irritation in her voice. Jenrya felt a little better. "Hey Ruki. It's Jenrya."

"What're you doing calling me, Jenrya? And how did you get my cell number? Class is about to start – you trying to get me in trouble?" Ruki demanded.

"Your grandmother gave it to me, first thing," Jenrya said patiently, "And no, I'm not trying to get you in trouble."

"I weird out the teachers enough as it is, even if they don't know I associate with you babies."

Jenrya ignored her words, instead continuing, "Actually, it's about Takato –"

She interrupted him, "Oh, did Gogglehead tell you to ask me to go on a date with him? Why don't you tell him I'd _love_ to?" Ruki's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You can also tell him I hate babysitting."

Jenrya sighed. Things were getting off on a bad start and it looked like Ruki was in a bad mood.

"No, he didn't ask me. You also seem to keep forgetting we're the same age as you, we're _not_ babies. Now could you stop for a second and just _listen_ to me?"

"Spit it out. And make it fast. I've got a quiz this period."

"I just found out this morning Takato's missing, Ruki. He didn't come to school today, I think he was gone since last night. His parents were calling the police from the principal's office."

Silence from the other end of the line. Jenrya took this as a cue to continue.

"I sent Terriermon to go meet up with Guilmon. Unless Takato took him with him, he's probably still in the park. Maybe Takato talked to him about running away or something, I don't know. The thing I don't get is _why_ Takato would run away in the first place. I don't know if he took his D-Arc or not, or his cards, so I don't know if he went out after a Digimon or something. I know you don't really like Takato that much, but I think you need to know what's happened." Jenrya finished, stopping for breath.

More lengthy silence. Jenrya wasn't sure if Ruki was even on the line anymore.

"Hello? Ruki? You still there?"

"…yeah, I'm still here." Ruki sounded slightly subdued, "Was he freaking out on you or anything? Say anything un-Takato?"

"Nope. Just perfectly normal stuff, complaining about homework."

Ruki paused, as if thinking of something extremely unpleasant, "Maybe he…uh…"

"Killed himself? Nah, I already ruled that one out. They wouldn't bother searching for him and pulling me out of class if he did," Jenrya replied.

"You know, if Guilmon finds out, he's going to go crazy," Ruki remarked.

"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna go look for Takato after school," Jenrya said, "Look, I'm worried. About Takato _and_ what we're gonna do against those wild Digimon."

"..I…um…I'll help you look for him. I don't _hate_ him or anything…" another awkward pause, "Renamon might know something since she's always out at night."

"Thanks. Can you meet me at the tunnel?"

"Is it the one I think it is?"

"Yeah."

"Fine." The girl hesitated. She blurted, "Don't you _dare_ tell Gogglehead I had this conversation with you!"

"I won't."

At least he had Ruki's help now. That made Jenrya feel a little better, but not by much.

**To be continued...**

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10/20/12 - Went in to fix up the formating. Also did some minor edits. Thanks for reading.


	3. Day 2: Kincaid

**Digital Shuffle**

By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own Digimon.  
**Author's Note**: Third season, centered around Takato and Jenrya (and one more character). Switches to the other characters from time to time. Takes just before Yamaki sets forth his Juggernaut plan (like, a day or two before the Juggernaut is activated. Don't really know the exact episode, guess between Episodes 12 and 14) **departs from canon from there and goes off in a different direction**).

PG-13  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects

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Digital Shuffle  
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**(Day Two – Kincaid)**

Terriermon watched with wide eyes as Guilmon demolished Jenrya's lunch. He hadn't thought it was possible to eat that much food in three seconds, but Guilmon had proved him wrong. _Jeez, he's got one big appetite_, he thought to himself, amazed. Guilmon sniffed about the empty knapsack, turning it over with his nose and made a mournful sigh.

"No more food?"

"You ate all of it! Y'know, you're going to get fat one day." Terriermon said. No way a Digimon could eat that much every day and _not_ gain weight.

Guilmon shook his head, "Will not."

"Will too."

"Will not." Guilmon paced around the stone shed, tail swishing after him. "I never gain weight."

Terriermon scrunched up his black nose. He found _that_ hard to believe: he knew _he_ could never inhale so much food! Maybe it was because he was smaller. Guilmon was at least three times bigger than he was. Terriermon flopped down on the floor, leaning back on his paws. There wasn't much of a point in arguing, and besides, he was too bored to continue. At least he had some company. He never liked waiting for Jenrya to get out of P.E, but he didn't have much of a choice. Guilmon was easily better than hiding in a locker all day.

He happened to have a little thing against smelly lockers.

Terriermon reached up and removed the watch he left looped around his ears. It took an hour for him to get from the school to the park (small legs to thank for that) and he spent ten minutes trying to open the gate to the shed (short height to thank for _that_). He hadn't been able to reach the handle until Guilmon padded over to help.

He turned the watch over in his paws so the face was now toward him. He squinted, moving so he wasn't in the glare of the sun and could read it. Almost two. One more hour before Jenrya got out of school. The Digimon looped the watch around his right ear again, and stood up, stretching. Guilmon stopped pacing, turning his large eyes on Terriermon.

"You're leaving already?" he asked.

"Yup," Terriermon said, "But you're coming with me. We're meeting Jenrya."

Guilmon beamed. "Oh, are we playing? Tag, maybe?"

Terriermon laughed. That seemed like a really good idea! "I don't know. If we do, I don't wanna be It!"

Guilmon pushed open the barred gate, talking as he did so. "Okay, then I'll be It."

"You gotta give me a head start too. It's not fair 'cause I'm not as big as you."

"Okay. Thirty seconds." Guilmon started down the sloping stone steps. He hunched down to let the smaller Digimon climb up onto his scaled back. "So, where're we going?"

"You know that tunnel? The one Takato tried to hide you in?"

"Yeah."

"That one." Terriermon wrapped his tiny black claws around the ridges on Guilmon's back. "But I don't know if we're gonna have enough time to play Tag. I think this's some sort of meeting."

"Is it secret?"

Terriermon shrugged. "How would I know?"

Guilmon thought this over as he slipped through the trees, winding his way down the hill. The setting sun sent out beams of afternoon light shooting through the trunks and leaves, the two Digimon weaving through the shafts. "Oh, I can't wait!" Guilmon was saying, "First, when we get there, I'm going to ask why Takato didn't bring me anything to eat. Then, I'm going to tackle him!"

Terriermon blinked as he held on to the other. "_Tackle_ him? Why? That sounds painful."

"Because I'm glad to see him. Why else?" Guilmon answered. He laughed, " 'Sides, Takato doesn't mind when I tackle him."

"Right…" Terriermon dubiously said. He didn't really buy that – after all, Jenrya complained when _he_ leaped at him. Why would Takato feel any differently? Guilmon was so much bigger it _had_ to hurt being tackled. Like getting run over by a small bulldozer, he imagined. A small, red dinosaur bulldozer. Terriermon tugged on Guilmon's wing-shaped ear as he started to step out from the thinning foliage. "No, Jenrya said we're supposed to stay hidden. Secret-like."

Guilmon bobbed his wedge-shaped head in a nod of understanding. "_Top_ secret-like."

He turned around and trotted down through the bushes, making his own trail. The branches scratched against his hide. Guilmon hardly noticed, his thick scales proving to be imperious to snagging twigs. Terriermon ducked as one low branch swung past and sat up as they hurried through the greenery. Guilmon moved at a rapid pace, the muscles in his hind legs working as he trotted. They were making good time. Terriermon glanced at the sun, close to the jagged horizon of the sprawling city. It probably wouldn't take that long to get to the meeting place.

Guilmon hummed happily. He was looking forward to seeing Takato – maybe his friend would like to play with him later. It was fun playing with everyone else, but there was something special about having his partner all to himself.

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Yamaki crushed the spent cigarette in the ashtray. He briefly considered lighting another one, but decided against it. Too many of these things would mutilate his lungs and he preferred to be able to breathe, thank you very much. He needed to throw away the rest of the pack, otherwise he'd just probably light another one on reflex. Easy to slip into old habits again.

Yamaki stood on the floor of the main deck. The Yuggoth system was still in working order. He almost expected they would've done something to it. After all, they already sealed up the two floors the Juggernaut system occupied, and he had been concerned they might've decided to do the same to the Yuggoth. Thankfully, they left it untouched, no sign they even entered the room. _Something_ he supposed he could be thankful for.

He looked at his watch as he crossed the large deck. A little past three. The techs just left to take their break. Yamaki glanced up at the sprawling dome where the multiple screens were glowing their normal blue and green. No sign of any attempts to bio-emerge, no warning sounds from the quietly beeping and buzzing machinery.

Yamaki reached up, pushing up his sunglasses. One of the new techs was climbing into one of the high-rising chairs, the first of the next shift. Reika called in earlier in the morning saying she would probably be late for her shift, so he had to call in one of the newer employees to take her place. This replacement had been hired only five months ago, he recalled, because he was pretty sure he had seen that short, bright purple hair before. He _did_ know that she was a foreigner, though her Japanese was nearly flawless. He couldn't for the life of him place that strange accent. What was her name? Something that started with a "K"? _Kincaid_, he suddenly remembered..

" 'Afternoon, Mr. Yamaki!" She called down as the chair began to lift into the air. "When did you start smoking?"

He nodded, a little surprised as he noticed he was still holding the opened pack in his hand. _Observant_ _girl_, he noted.

"Since today."

Kincaid settled back into the chair, pulling on the goggles over her silver-flecked eyes. She leaned over her computer terminal and shook her head at the man standing below her. "That stuff's bad for you, sir! Don't you ever read the surgeon general's warnings?"

Yamaki felt a grudging smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Normally, he wouldn't allow unnecessary conversation between the workers and himself, but sometimes he'd let some of it slide by. She was good at her job and useful at other tasks, most likely why Nagamora sent her over as soon as soon as the construction on the Juggernaut began. Originally, she oversaw the production, but recently she was assigned to another station. If Yamaki remembered correctly, Kincaid had also been the one who adapted his vague idea of the Juggernaut into solid blueprints. Apparently she was skilled at multi-tasking, something Yamaki also approved of.

He had forgotten about her, what with all the bio-emerging Digimon. He reminded himself to consider her for a raise.

"I do. And I ignore them." Yamaki said, shoving the pack into his pocket. Another reminder he was _definitely_ going to throw it out. "How long's your shift, Kincaid?"

The reply drifted down. "Eight hours, Mr. Yamaki!"

"You've been stationed up there before?"

"Sure have. Twice. This is my third time."

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "You know what to do?"

"I learn fast." A cheeky grin.

Yamaki shook his head. He didn't really like the idea of having someone with little experience on the Yuggoth deck, but he supposed the girl probably could use this as an opportunity to get used to the controls. It would be useful if he could have more people accustomed to the Yuggoth than only Reika and Kei.

"Yamaki!"

He turned around. A burly man jogged toward him, clutching several sheets of computer printouts in one hand. He couldn't recall the man's name, but Yamaki recognized him as one of the original Digimon programmers. He nodded in greeting as the programmer came to a stop before him, struggling to remember the other's name. He failed miserably and decided it was better just to give up.

"Yes, what is it?" Yamaki asked.

"We've come across something which might explain why the Digimon seem to be appearing with increasing frequency."

He nodded. "And?"

"Actually, it's not really anything more than a theory, but," the programmer handed him the sheets of paper, "Take a look at this." The black man pointed at one of the sheets. "This is the total number of Digimon appearing nine months ago." He pointed again. "And this is the number of Digimon five months ago. And the Digimon appearances this month. Are you seeing a pattern?"

"They've tripled in frequency."

"My colleagues have been studying some other data – the recent weather, where these Digimon seem to be appearing, what…uh…'levels' these Digimon are when they appear – and we noticed something. First of all, almost all of the Digimon appear primarily in Japan, mostly here in Tokyo." The programmer reached over and pulled out another computer printout. "Nine months ago, only high-level Digimon were appearing. Recently, the weaker Digimon have also been appearing, as well as some of the stronger ones. The weather has also been acting in an abnormal fashion since then."

"It snowed at the end of the summer," Yamaki muttered to himself. He remembered how the media had a field day with that one. The same thing with the strange drought mid-October.

"Actually, we don't have any truly solid proof, but I've come up with an explanation for all of this but…ah, well, it _is_ a little far-fetched."

Yamaki made an impatient gesture for the other to continue.

"I believe the barrier between our world and the digital one is weakening, which might explain why the weak Digimon are appearing. It would also explain the bizarre weather: the contact with the digital plane just _might_ throw the weather patterns off. I think Japan, no, Tokyo, is the focal point."

"So you're basically suggesting Tokyo is a convenient bridge? That Tokyo is where the Digital World and our own are closest to each other?"

"Basically. But we don't have solid proof, as I said before."

Yamaki grimaced, handing the papers back to the programmer. "Makes sense to me. Do you think there would be any way to strengthen this hypothetical 'barrier' of yours?" _It might be easier to simply _block_ the data from entering our world than just deleting all them. But if this "barrier" were weakening, then it would probably still continue to deteriorate, even if it was strengthened. From what he's described to me, it's almost like something's…_eating _away at this supposed "barrier"…_

"I can't really say. It should be possible to fix the…" the burly man trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Tears?"

"Tears," the black man agreed. "The tears in the barrier. But if that was the case, it's also possible to open them further. The only thing I can be sure of is that it would take an incredible amount of energy. I don't even know if we have the technology to do any of this."

Yamaki shrugged. "That's not your concern. You should just focus on finding that code I requested." He paused. "But it was good you came to me about this. I want you and your team to pursue this idea of yours."

He turned away, leaving the programmer to return to his team. Kei was already climbing into her chair, the young woman glancing curiously over at Kincaid, who was in Reika's usual seat. Kincaid said something over her shoulder – probably a greeting, though he was too far to hear her words – and returned to her work, her gloved fingers flying over the terminal. Yamaki crossed his arms over his chest, lost in thought.

_What if there _was_ a way to completely block Digimon from our world? If deleting them wasn't the only way to get rid of them?_

Yamaki wavered mentally for a moment.

_No._

_ It doesn't matter what we do to these things. They're just packets of data, nothing more. These Digimon have caused more trouble then they're worth. They overstayed their welcome a _long_ time ago!_

Blocking access to the Real World would be too lenient. Best to stick to the tried-and-true method of deletion.

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Strangely enough, Takato's eyes hurt. Actually his whole body ached, but his eyes were giving him the most pain. It felt like someone decided to take a couple of pins and poke some holes into them. As he slowly came to, he began to realize there was something wrong, completely ignoring the fact all his limbs were sore and the muscles in his back were utterly killing him for some unexplained reason.

In fact, the only thing he was sure of was he didn't want to get up and that it would probably be a good idea if he didn't make the attempt.

_Where _am_ I, anyway?_ Takato wondered. He started to become aware of his surroundings: of the small, sharp objects pressing themselves into the small of his back (uncomfortable), the sense he was outside (last time he checked, his bed was indoors), and that someone was standing over him. This last observation made him uneasy – he instinctively knew this wasn't anyone he knew. This had to be (according to his parents' warnings) a _Stranger_.

He tried to move his legs. They refused to budge. Arms wouldn't either. They refused to obey his mental commands.

_ Ouch. _

Takato decided he needed to think: he didn't know how long he was out, though he had a feeling several hours passed. _Guilmon woke me up and then we were heading to Tokyo Tower…something was wrong though…_it was incredibly distracting, trying to think with a huge headache that was, at the moment, pounding his skull with a pair of heavy-duty hammers. More painful than the rocks digging into his back. _Ow …please let this be a bad dream…_

"It's not."

Takato froze in mid-thought, unaware he'd spoken aloud, as the alien voice continued.

"You will be wishing it was, however." The voice was definitely not human, but he could hear the thinly veiled contempt.

The Tamer abruptly found himself wide-awake. His eyes blurred and at first he didn't see the form towering over him as his vision swam. When he finally focused, he immediately wished he hadn't as he saw the owner of the voice. Takato tried to scramble away, panic making him unable to cut off his squeak of surprise. Before he could get far, a cloven hoof slammed down a few inches above his head. Takato froze again. If he'd moved a little bit faster, the force of the blow would've caved in his skull. He could only stare as the large, clear (and familiar) blue eyes drew closer, looking him over.

He belatedly recalled the past events. This was the Guilmon who came into his room and tricked him, the Guilmon-that-wasn't. The only thing certain was his captor was _definitely_ a Digimon.

The creature bore a resemblance between a mix of an antelope, a skeletal horse and an exotic bird. Lightly feathered wings swept back from the long face of the Digimon in place of ears, the lips pulled back to reveal interlaced fangs and bare fangs. Aside from the bright blue eyes, the only signs of color was the green tips of the thick fur jutting out from its jaw-line up to the monster's forehead – the markings surrounding its eyes were a dark black. From where he was lying on the ground, Takato couldn't see the rest of the Digimon and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to: his heart was still skipping in shocked circles from his first glimpse of the Guilmon-that-wasn't.

The Digimon pulled back his head, shaking out the long mane in a gesture of irritation. After a moment of deliberation, it stepped back as it craned its head to look over its bony shoulder, the sky-blue eyes glazing over for a long moment. The lengthening shadows threw themselves against the sloping floor – Takato could see that they were at the bottom of one of the dried out aqueduct lines running through the city.

The Digimon stood over him.

"Where is it?" It demanded. "Your Digivice! Where is it?"

Takato didn't know. He only had his D-Arc, though he couldn't feel its comfortable weight at his side.

He managed to shake his head frantically. There was something wrong with this Digimon, something different from those he had come into contact with. The Digimon leaned forward, fixing him with those eyes of his and staring right at him. Before Takato could even blink, he suddenly went blind as a wave of disorientation surged through him, leaving him light-headed as it passed and he could make out the black and red spots dancing in his range of vision.

The Digimon cursed. "Of _course_ you'd drop it. Humans!" It then made an apparent attempt to collect itself. "You're little more than an infant. An imperfect infant, at that. It is understandable for such a clumsy creature to make stupid mistakes."

It started to shimmer, the air around it sliding around the beast like a mirage. It bobbed its head in a nod, as if acknowledging some mental question.

"Our way has been prepared for us. Your 'D-Arc' can wait." A thin layer of fog crept oward the paralyzed Tamer and the Digimon. The very same fog Takato mistook earlier for a digital field, curling around the ground in fingers.

"We mustn't delay any further…_Divine Mist!_"

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Jenrya leaned against the wall of the tunnel and crossed his arms across his chest.

"What are you going to tell Guilmon?"

"I don't know, Ruki," Jenrya said. "He's going to have to know sometime, but I'd rather not be the one to tell him."

The other Tamer frowned as she paced in front of him. Ruki had been the first to arrive at the meeting place and was waiting for a while until Jenrya could finally get out of cleanup duty and race over. Jenrya didn't see Renamon anywhere, but he knew she came with Ruki. She had a habit of appearing out of thin air. Jenrya watched wordlessly as Ruki turned in her tracks and began to pace past him again. He could see she was worried as well, but she was trying to hide it by looking impatient._ She's pretty testy when she's worried about something._

"Why aren't Terriermon and Guilmon here yet?" Ruki demanded, "They're late!"

"They're probably on their way right now, Ruki. It takes a while to get here from the park, remember?"

"Whatever."

"It's not whatever."

"Stop correcting me!"

Jenrya only shrugged again. Ruki scowled at his reaction and continued her pacing. _Acting like that won't automatically solve the problem._ Jenry thought_. If we're going to work together – as a _team_, for once – then we can't be having these petty arguments all the time. Teams work together. _And what was he going to tell Guilmon? He didn't really want to have a hysterical Digimon on his hands (it was hard enough keeping track of a _calm_ one) but he did think Guilmon needed to know Takato had vanished off somewhere. Again, Jenrya had to wonder what his friend was thinking, disappearing like that.

Jenrya looked sharply up, as there was a commotion further down the tunnel. Ruki stopped pacing, her head turning and hand reaching down to her D-Arc as the scuffling sounds drew closer. There was a muffled squawk of surprise, followed by silence. A few seconds later, Renamon padded into view, holding a squirming black Digimon at arm's length by the scruff of his neck. She sported several scratches from her attempt to keep the Rookie from escaping.

"I found him sneaking about," said Renamon. "Personally, I don't like him listening in on our conversations."

"Lemme go! I swear, yer gonna be sorry!"

Jenrya blinked in mild surprise at seeing Impmon.

"Ya want a Bada Boom up yer nose?!" Impmon continued to squirm, glaring like it was going out of style. "What're ya dumb kids looking at? You'd think yer idiot eyes never saw a Digimon before!"

Ruki shot the Rookie a withering look, but ignored him, turning toward Renamon. "What was he doing? Did he hear anything?"

"He was eavesdropping, so he probably heard quite a bit."

Jenrya spoke up. "What are we going to do with him? I don't think we need to delete him," Impmon made a muffled squeak at this remark, "over this."

"Delete him? Why would you delete him? We only delete mean Digimon."

Jenrya turned around at the sound of the new voice. Guilmon and Terriermon headed toward him from the shadows, the rabbit-Digimon perched on Guilmon's back. Guilmon kneeled down as they reached the group to allow Terriermon to jump to the ground.

"I didn't _say_ we would delete him," Jenrya answered.

"Oh, that's good. Say, where's Takato? I still need to tackle him." This earned a snicker from Terriermon, who was now perched on Jenrya's head.

"Ah, about Impmon here…" Renamon hastily said, steering the conversation away from Takato. Ruki had filled her in earlier about the situation.

"He's harmless," Ruki smirked in disdain at Impmon's indignant face.

Jenrya glanced over at Guilmon: he was looking around the tunnel for Takato, his snout turned up in an expectant toothy smile. _Shoot, I _know_ this isn't going to go well. It might be a better idea to keep him in the dark for a little longer._ Still, maybe Guilmon could help them out. _Like, he could sniff out Takato by his scent or something…Takato did tell me Guilmon has a really strong nose._ He could tell the Digimon it was a game – the locate-the-Takato game – but then he knew he'd have a lot of explaining to do later. Which wouldn't be any fun at all: he wasn't sure if Guilmon would panic or get really angry and start lobbing Pyro Spheres at him.

"Hey, Guilmon, can you keep a eye on Impmon?" Jenrya asked. Guilmon glanced from the Digimon in Renamon's hold to the Tamer, "Don't let him run away or anything – we might have some questions we might want to ask."

"Okay." Guilmon fixed a golden eye on Impmon. The furiously struggling Impmon was transferred from Renamon to the other Rookie, the scratching paws of the small Digimon proving to be useless against Guilmon's scales. Guilmon padded off. Jenrya waited until he was pretty sure the Rookie was gone before turning around and drawing the others aside.

Terriermon non-too-gently thumped the top of his head with a paw. "_Now_ are you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"Would you stop that? I was getting to it." Jenrya protested, making a half-hearted motion to pull the heavy Digimon off his head

Ruki rolled her eyes, and spoke up. "For your information, Terriermon, Takato ran away from home - "

"- You don't know if that's for sure," Jenrya interjected.

Ruki scowled. "Well, that's what _I_ think he did." She planted a hand on her hip, turning back to Terriermon, "No one can find him. His parents called the cops and everything. We're gonna go looking for him."

The rabbit-Digimon perched on Jenrya's head fell silent, thinking this all over.

"Ms. Hanatora said his parents think Takato went missing since last night," Jenrya added.

"What about Guilmon?" Terriermon asked.

"I don't think any of us want to break the news to him," Renamon said from her place behind Ruki. "I don't suppose you want to volunteer?"

Jenrya could feel Terriermon shake his head vigorously. "No _way_! Find someone else!"

"Well, that doesn't help," Jenrya said, looking up at his Digimon. He shook his head, deciding to change subjects. "Renamon, Ruki says you might be able to help us."

"I can?" Renamon sent a slightly startled glance at her partner. _You'd think Ruki's never exchanged a nice word with her or something,_ Jenrya thought sourly. Renamon recollected herself, and gave a small smile. "Perhaps I can, if Ruki feels that way."

"She said you're always out at night. Did you see anything?"

Jenrya felt his heart sink as Renamon shook her head.

"No, I wasn't anywhere near Takato's neighborhood last night. In fact, the only person I know who would have seen anything would be…" Renamon trailed off, her blue eyes suddenly narrowing as she thought of something. She pushed herself away from the wall. "Impmon! I knew he wasn't telling me everything!"

Ruki glanced over her shoulder with disapproval at her partner. "You talked with that small fry?"

"He was sneaking about as usual, Ruki. I can't stop him from going where he pleases." Renamon touched the young girl's shoulder to show she wasn't hiding anything, "But he did mention something that might be helpful."

Jenrya felt Terriermon fold his paws across the top of his head, as if his Tamer was some sort of desk. "What makes you think we can trust 'im?"

"I never said anything about trusting him. I merely said he told me something that might help us now," Renamon said, her tail swishing lazily behind her. "He babbled about seeing something interesting at Tokyo Tower," she waved a paw, "But he also made this odd remark: I think his exact words were 'might want to call those other loser 'Tamers', if you can find _all_ of them'." Renamon held up her paws, seeing Ruki frown at this. "That's what he said. I have an excellent memory."

"That's some nerve for such a weak Digimon," Ruki growled.

Jenrya glanced down at the ground, trying to think. _So Impmon must've seen something, he _knew_ Takato was missing when he talked to Renamon_. He didn't like this. Too many questions were cropping up, and all his old ones were still unanswered. And what did Tokyo Tower have anything to do with Takato? Takato lived far from the building. Had Impmon actually seen Takato leave? Or…maybe the Digimon had a hand (well, paw) in Takato's disappearance. Jenrya felt a surge of anger. He had never really liked Impmon and if he had been responsible for his friend vanishing like that…

_ No, burying him alive does _not_ make things any better._

The annoying, nagging part of his brain told him he didn't know for sure if Impmon was to blame. Jenrya took a deep breath to calm himself. _I should be more concerned with finding Takato instead of searching for some scapegoat._

"Okay, so what're we going to do?" Ruki asked impatiently, her foot tapping against the floor of the tunnel.

"I guess we start searching." Jenrya said, "I think we should split up, we can cover more ground that way."

Renamon nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. But the chances of us finding him are –"

" – I think we should go to Tokyo Tower to see if there's anything there!" Ruki interrupted her partner. "I was thinking we could take Impmon with us. He could answer our questions on the way there."

Jenrya dubiously put his watch back on. "He's not going to go with you willingly."

"He will or he's going to have to deal with Renamon. Right?"

"Right, Ruki." Renamon agreed.

"Don't do anything to him if you don't have to," Jenrya said. "No matter how irritating he can get, he's also a Digimon, flesh and blood."

Ruki rolled her eyes. "I think we're all very aware of that, Jenrya."

"So you, Renamon, and Impmon are going to this Tokyo Tower?" Terriermon asked, ignoring the Tamer's sarcasm. He continued when Renamon nodded, "Then I guess I'll be going with Jenrya and Guilmon."

"Should we meet here at another time?"

"Don't bother. If I find him, I'll call the two of you."

"I have your cell number, but I don't have a cell phone myself," Jenrya said. He looked down at his watch, "My parents said I _have_ to be back before seven for my sister's birthday, so after then, you'll have to call my home number."

"What time is it now?"

"3:41."

Ruki exchanged glances with Renamon, "We'd better get moving. Where're you guys going?"

Jenrya paused. He hadn't given this thought yet: a remote place few people visited seemed like a good hiding spot.

"They've built a new park north of the Diet building. I'm going to try looking over there."

"Fine, then it's settled." Ruki turned toward Renamon, "Ready?"

"I'm ready when you are."

Ruki started down the tunnel, breaking into a run, followed by her partner Digimon. The two quickly disappeared into the shadows. _Guess we better get started._ Jenrya picked up his backpack, checking his pockets to make sure he had enough money for the subway fare. It would at least be an hour trip if the subway was crowded – it usually was after school and some of the grown-ups would be getting off from work right now. _Great. J_enrya loved standing pressed face-to-face with people he didn't know.

"I guess we'd better get going as well, Terriermon. Let's go get Guilmon."

"You gonna tell him?"

"…Not right now. I need him to help us out," Jenrya answered. He felt like such a jerk, always hiding things._ I'll tell him tomorrow morning_, he promised himself. _We might find Takato before then_.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Two hours later**

Things were going perfectly.

_Well, as perfectly as they can go with all this planning, anyway_, she thought wryly. Kincaid glanced over her shoulder at the tech sitting in the other high-rise chair. Kei was bent over her work, her fingers tapping on the terminal and focused only on doing her job. Kincaid leaned over the side of her own chair, looking down. Yamaki had shooed away the rest of the techs and was now standing near the stairs, staring intently at the PDA in his hand. He was busy as well.

Neither would notice anything if she was quiet about it.

Kincaid hunched over her terminal. _He should be on his way. If only he hadn't decided to go right through the Juggernaut like that. _She should've warned him about that. _I've done everything I could to prepare for this…all I need to do is make sure those tracers don't lock on to him._ Another cautionary glance down at Yamaki, who appeared to be completely absorbed in his work. Good. This made things a little easier.

This was, after all, for the greater good of all Digimon.

No matter what commands Kincaid typed into the machine, it stubbornly refused to disable the tracers._ I don't have time for this. I won't have another opportunity like this_. The young woman gave the panel a moment of consideration. She _could_ set up the machine in such a way that if it made an illegal shutdown, her tracers wouldn't function in the digital plane. In fact, they probably wouldn't work online at all until some other technician fixed her machine.

She looked around to make sure no one was looking and then pulled off one of her gloves. Because of her power, she hadn't been able to completely get rid of the digital energy that seemed to stick to her the moment she arrived in Japan. Usually, it was a nuisance (especially since the electrical charge seemed to collect mostly around her hands: the reason she had to wear gloves all the time, otherwise people would stare), but for today, it would prove to be helpful.

_One illegal shutdown coming up._

Kincaid pressed the tip of her finger against the softly glowing screen of the terminal, the air itself wavering around her exposed hand. For a moment, the images and icons on the screen swirled. With an almost inaudible warbling buzz, the terminal blinked off as the machine shut down. Kincaid fitted the glove back onto her hand. Well, that was easy enough! Now all she had to do was turn it back on and viola! Everything would be running except those irritating tracers.

She paused. _Viola? …Well, well, looks like this language is starting to rub of on me. Bad girl. You're not supposed to adapt to them. It should be the other way around._

Kincaid gave an impish grin at her terminal as she turned it on again. That took care of the last of her problems. She had been lucky to be assigned to the Juggernaut construction. It was lucky as well Yamaki never wandered down when she had been overseeing it – it also meant he didn't see the "little" changes she had made to it. He would only see the shell he blueprinted. None of the modifications she made to prepare for her servant and his charge's arrival. She had also take the opportunity to fiddle around with the Yuggoth system when she had "found" the bug; the program was blind to her presence now.

He was coming. She could feel him drawing closer. Kincaid was finding it difficult not to smile with suppressed glee: she had prepared five months in advance for this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya trudged through the empty park. Built on a hill, it rose a bit above the city so one had a good view of the sprawling metropolis. Pretty and all, but Jenrya was starting to hate the climb. It didn't help he had Terriermon riding on top of his head and he had to stop every other minute so Guilmon could sniff curiously at a random rock or flower. _At least no one on the subway asked any questions. They probably thought Terriermon and Guilmon were stuffed animals I was bringing home or something._ Of course that wasn't true, but he hadn't made any attempt to explain himself.

"Guilmon, what're you doing?" Terriermon asked for the third time in the past ten minutes.

Guilmon raised his wedge-shaped head from a small clump of bushes. "I'm looking to see if Takato's hiding in here."

"First of all, Takato couldn't possibly fit in there," Jenrya said. He explained the find-the-Takato "game", but he could tell Guilmon wasn't taking it seriously, "Secondly, Takato's probably hiding really good, so you're not going to find him in such an obvious spot."

"I see!" Guilmon scampered a few yards ahead, reptilian head swiveling as he tried to pick out more possible hiding places. Jenrya followed gamely after him, glancing down at his watch. 5:50. That didn't leave that much time before he'd have to take the subway back home. Jenrya craned his head to look up at the sky, which was quickly darkening from late afternoon into the early evening. As the three climbed higher, he could see the rest of the city start to light up. Jenrya suddenly wished he brought a flashlight as he noticed there were no overhead lamps.

"Hey, penny for your thoughts," Terriermon commented quietly.

"It's nothing." Jenrya replied. He knew his partner didn't believe a word of it so he continued. "I keep thinking I'm handling all this – everything – the wrong way. I'm making a bigger mess of things."

"You're doing the best you can. You worry too much. I think you've been really calm and stuff."

"You think that's good?"

"Well, yeah, 'course I do. Everyone can always count on you: you're the most level-headed out of all of us," Terriermon said, and Jenrya knew he was grinning although he couldn't see him. " 'Cept for me, of course."

"You're a modest one, aren't you?" Jenrya said with a laugh.

"Have to be to keep you in line, y'know. But being serious now, you expect too much from yourself sometimes. You always try to do everything without any help from anyone, even when you really do need someone to back you up. That's just shooting yourself in the leg."

"It's called shooting yourself in the _foot_, Terriermon. Not leg."

"Same thing. You know what I'm talking about."

Jenrya fell quiet for a moment. He hadn't ever thought about himself that way. He always felt he had to be independent of others_. You have to be self-sufficient, otherwise you constantly depend on others_..._And if you depend on others, you won't be able to do anything on your own. And if you can't do anything by yourself, you can't help those you want to care for._ He knew the argument could go in circles. He was usually flexible about a lot of things, but…

"You should be more trusting about people, y'know? Not all of them are incapable of getting things done."

Jenrya didn't know what to say._  
_

"Try to remember that, okay?"

"I'll think about it, Terriermon," Jenrya sighed. Guilmon waited for them at the top of the grassy hill, claws holding onto the railing as he tried to take in the view all at once. The Tamer called up to Guilmon, "Did you find him?"

"No! Takato's good at this game, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He's very good at it."

Guilmon raised his snout, nostrils twitching, as the others joined him. Terriermon scrambled down from his perch on Jenrya's head to balance on his partner's shoulder, making a small sound of awe as he took in the view of the carpet of lights that Tokyo. The Tamer crossed his arms over his chest, glancing around: he was about to tell them that they were going to look elsewhere, when he noticed the drawn, tense expression on Guilmon's face. He felt himself instinctively tense.

"What's wrong?"

Guilmon rumbled, his lips pulling back in a snarl, "Something bad." He leaned over the railing, claws gripping the metal tightly. He made a low growl. "It's coming!"

"Terriermon, can you feel it too?"

A tense reply, "Yeah. It's gotta be a Digimon."

Jenrya faced the direction Guilmon and Terriermon stared, across the blinking city of lights. He didn't see anything. No digital field of fog, nothing. But Jenrya trusted his partner's instincts, as well as Guilmon's. If they were acting like this, then the Digimon probably wasn't friendly, either. Talk about bad timing. _First Takato goes missing and now this!_

Hastily he pulled off his backpack and began searching for his D-Arc.

He had a feeling he was going to need it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid let her gloved hands rest on the terminal, her silver eyes closed behind the goggles. Her servant approached the building at a rapid rate, traveling once again through the digital plane. It would only be a matter of time before the people around her would notice him. By then it would be too late. She leaned back against her chair, listening to the clack of Yamaki's metal-cased lighter.

_Click._

"Sir, it's a wild one!"

_ Click._

"Make sure it doesn't get through," Yamaki ordered, "Kincaid, send a tracer after it."

_Oops, but sir, my tracers don't seem to be working. I think the electric charge I gave it might have broken it._

"My tracer's aren't locking on."

_Click._

"Kei, get me a visual image. Kincaid, try again!"

_Click._

"I can't get any visual confirmation," Kei shouted down. Her fingers danced across her panel, "It's…sir, the Yuggoth has matched the signature of this Wild One with yesterday's!"

"Delete it!" Yamaki ordered, his lighter forgotten.

_ Sorry, Yamaki, but I can't have you doing that._

"It's starting to bio-emerge again!"

"That's impossible!"

Kincaid knew where her servant would be arriving – she had informed him as soon as he had left the Tokyo Tower, explaining where he was to take his prisoner and that he was to make a diversion so she would be able to slip away unnoticed. He gave little argument, though he made the usual derogatory remarks about the human race. She had only given a chuckle and agreed.

Kaminmon had a way with words, especially on his favorite subject. Her lips curled up in a smirk.

_ He's here now. Underneath us and this infernal Yuggoth system of Yamaki's…with the Juggernaut._

The blue-eyed Digimon cantered out of the fog flowing around the room, his cloven hooves touching the floor with a series of clatters. Kaminmon ignored the dead weight of the human boy – Takato, wasn't it? – across his spiny back, trotting away from his Divine Mist portal toward the huge shadow at the opposite of the room.

His mistress wanted a diversion. What better way than to send this whole blasted city into darkness?

The wings on his head flared open, starting to glow a bright white as he gathered his energy for his attack.

"_Virus Override!_"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's bio-emerged – " Kei cut off as the room was suddenly bathed in darkness. Kincaid pulled off her goggles, glancing about. A blackout?It worked as a diversion, heavy handed as it was. She pushed up the panel of her terminal, looking down. She knew she could easily crawl down the structure supporting the high-rise chairs (she had been complimented for her monkey-like dexterity - the humans were so much closer to the mark than they knew), but Yamaki would probably ask where she was going. She needed to have an excuse to leave the deck.

"Fucking wonderful!" Yamaki's voice rang out from the darkness. Her silver eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, but even her keen vision was having trouble piercing the darkness and she could barely see Yamaki.

"Kei, try to get the backup power online!"

"It's not responding, sir!"

Another curse. The white noise the Yuggoth made – beeps and buzzes and clicks – was absent, leaving the room eerily quiet. Yamaki's voice now rebounded off the walls of the deck, unnaturally loud. He unconsciously lowered his voice. "Something's wrong with the connection. We're going to have to try the breakers."

_ Perfect excuse._ "Sir, I can do that!" Kincaid volunteered.

She could feel Yamaki turning toward her, his gaze cast in her general direction: he seemed to have no trouble in this darkness, appearing to be perfectly at home. "You know where they are?"

"Yeah," she lied.

"Bring a flashlight with you. And hurry up!"

"Will do!" Kincaid replied. Not that a flashlight would work after a Virus Override attack. But she'd bring one anyway so she wouldn't get any questions. _Hopefully all those people barricading the Juggernaut deck left. I'm going to have to thank Nagamora for his help with that. _Kincaid began the descent to the floor of the deck, clambering down the structure easily.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya stared, frozen in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he had just seen happen. It would have been an understatement to say it surprised him just a little. After all, it wasn't every day you saw the city (he had this feeling it was the whole city, not just the section he happened to be in) suddenly go pitch black.

Guilmon relaxed his shoulders. He'd had been on the verge of vaulting over the railing and racing at breakneck speed down the hill toward the threat, but now he couldn't sense anything. He shook his head. "What happened to the lights?"

"A blackout," Terriermon said. He jumped down to the grassy ground, only a shadowy form in the dim light the moon was cast. "Maybe that thing we felt caused it. I mean, it's kinda weird when there's suddenly a big blackout right after we felt a Digimon coming."

Jenrya shook off his own surprise. "Maybe, but we're not sure if it was caused by a Digimon. I didn't see a digital field, did you?"

"Nope." Terriermon continued, "But I think we should take a look around, still. Never know if anything icky's sneaking around."

Guilmon shivered, his voice wavering slightly. "Sneaking about? Like a m-monster from a movie?"

The shadowy form of Terriermon turned, and grinned. "Oh, that might be! A monster with fangs, claws and a cape, ready to suck out your juices! Maybe even your blood! Suck it out like a vacuum cleaner sucks up dust bunnies!"

"Terriermon, there's no such thing as vampires. You've been seeing too many old horror movies yourself. Stop trying to scare Guilmon. And you're starting to gross _me_ out."

"Aw, but Jenrya…"

"We have to be serious now. Tease Guilmon later," Jenrya said. He looked down at the D-Arc nestled in his hand. "Takato let me borrow his Hyper Wings card yesterday: do you mind flying up and checking things out for us?"

Terriermon shook his head, giving his consent. Jenrya pulled out the card from his pocket, and shifted the D-Arc in his hand so he could slide the Hyper Wings through the slot. He turned the Hyper Wings card in his palm and held the D-Arc raised above his head.

"_Digi-Modify! _Hyper Wings…_activate!_"

Nothing. He tried again, thinking maybe he slashed the card wrong.

"_Digi-Modify!_ Hyper Wings…_activate!_"

Nothing. Again. _Now what's wrong?_ Jenrya lowered his hands, as Terriermon shot him a bewildered look. He held up the card, inspecting it in the moonlight. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with the card – no scratches, no bent edges or no rips – in fact, it appeared to be in perfect condition. So it wasn't the card. Besides, even if there was something wrong with the card, his D-Arc shouldn't have a problem with it. _After all, look how Takato made Guilmon. He said he used _notebook_ paper_ So if it wasn't the card, then it must be the D-Arc itself…

"I don't think it worked," Guilmon said. "Maybe the card doesn't like your D-Arc."

"What happened, Jenrya?" Terriermon asked.

"I don't know," Jenrya returned the card to his pocket, turning the D-Arc over in his hands. The white and green casing looked fine. He hadn't dropped it recently (the device seemed to be pretty hardy anyway: you could probably run it over with a car and it would still be running), so that wasn't it. The LCD screen was blank, no longer glowing that soft green that let him know it was on. Jenrya turned the D-Arc over. The Tamer experimentally touched some of the other buttons near the display. It was as if the D-Arc had gone completely dead.

"Here, let me take a look." Terriermon stretched his paws out. He sat down on the grass as he examined the D-Arc. "Whoa, weird. I can't see what you did wrong. And I've seen Takato use the Hyper Wing card a buncha times, so it can't be the card."

"Can I see it?" Guilmon asked.

Terriermon glanced at his partner, who nodded. The rabbit-Digimon handed the D-Arc to Guilmon, as Jenrya tried to figure out what he was going to do. There'd be no way he'd find Takato – in the dark, he'd have trouble picking out his friend from, say, a shopping cart. Guilmon could still sniff his scent out, but so far they hadn't any luck. Jenrya sighed He knew his parents would be worried about him, and with the electricity out, the subway was definitely out of the question. He could call his parents to let them know where he was as soon as the power returned.

_But that means I'll have to give up searching for Takato. How can I find him in the dark like this, though? _

Jenrya blinked as he realized he was staring at the dark shape of his D-Arc. He took it back from Guilmon. Guilmon made a helpless gesture.

"I don't know what's wrong with it either."

Jenrya made a face in the dim lighting. "That makes the three of us." He went on to explain their situation, that they'd probably be stranded at this end of town until the power returned. He didn't like the idea of trying to catch a ride with the bus. Without the traffic lights, it would be insane trying to drive down the streets. They'd probably end up in a car crash or something.

"I guess this means the find-the-Takato game is over?" Guilmon asked.

"Yeah."

Guilmon padded around Jenrya, starting to head down the hill, "Guess we'd better go…I don't like hanging around here when it's all dark and stuff."

Jenrya followed Guilmon, picking up Terriermon on the way. He started to look at his watch, wincing as he imagined how late he was going to be.

The face of it was blank.

_What the…?_ He checked again, sure he'd be imagining things.

No digital display. It, like the D-Arc, was completely dead.

Weird_. Dad bought this watch for me only a few weeks ago._

"Jenrya, Terriermon, come on!" Guilmon called over his shoulder.

Jenrya quickened his step, for the moment forgetting the watch and his D-Arc.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Click. Click. Click Click. Click._

Kincaid made her way down the emergency stairs, the heavy flashlight swinging at her side. The young woman spun it like a baton, clicking it on and off as she walked. The flashlight remained dark, though the bulb was as new as the batteries.

_Click click. Click._

_ I must be close to the Juggernaut decks by now. I've been climbing down for at least half an hour._

She could feel her servant, his carefully toned down aura drawing even closer with each step. _It's been such a long time since I've seen Thanasimon. I wonder if he's still a Rookie? _Kincaid shook her head, her short purple hair swinging with the movement. _No, he's much stronger than that. _He must have digivolved by now. This thought sent a slight thrill up her spine. What did he look like now? _He's probably a Champion, but such power for that level! His Virus Override must have knocked out all the electronics within the city limits. _Kincaid felt along the banister of the stairs. Even her inhuman vision was unable to pierce through the complete darkness of the stairwell. _I'm sure he'd like to hear that. He probably won't want to be called Thanasimon anymore!_

_And you, silly girl, are starting to sound like one of those "mothers" cooing over her little brat._

This earned a snort. _Like _I'd_ ever want a baby!_ Besides, it would be impossible – there were none of her kind here and those back home she had entirely no interest in. And here? Well! Humans all over! Kincaid snorted in laughter again. _I don't think it would even be possible: I've _never_ heard of such a union being successful. Here, I'm the sterile freemartin. Guess I don't have to be concerned about catching these diseases they're always worrying about._

Kincaid stopped in her tracks as she ran out of stairs. She tried the door. It wasn't locked, which surprised her. She thought Nagamora had completely sealed the deck off. Kincaid let herself in, glancing around cautiously. She couldn't make that much about, but she didn't see anyone in the short hall leading to the Juggernaut's room. _Good. _She shut the emergency exit behind her, heading down the corridor toward the heavy steel door.

She ran her hands along the edges of the door. Welded shut along the top and the bottom, though this left one area untouched. She tried to measure it with her fingers, though it was difficult in the darkness. _I could fit through there, with shifting on my part. _There was no possible way she could squeeze in through that crack in the human shape she was in now._  
_

Kincaid concentrated on shifting, feeling her present form slide away like water. She pressed herself against the open slit and with a slurping sensation slid through. She quickly returned to her shape, satisfied. Thoughtful of Nagamora to leave her an opening like that. She almost expected she'd have to break the door down. Not that she couldn't, but she was sure people would be more than a little suspicious to see the big metal door suddenly lying on the floor or blasted to pieces.

"Thanasimon?" She called. Her voice bounced around the deck, echoing back at her distorted.

"Over here, my lady."

Kincaid made her way toward the voice. Her servant's – she supposed she could consider him to be a friend, as well – voice was quite a bit deeper than she last remembered and she could barely recognize that familiar rise in it. The young woman removed one of her gloves. The wavering air around her fingers started to glow a pale red, reacting in response to the Digimon's presence. She could make out her servant's form in its light.

"You digivolved?" Kincaid asked, looking the winged virus-type up and down.

"Yes. I uploaded enough data to change from Thanasimon to my Champion form, Kaminmon. I am one of a kind and at your service."

Kincaid beckoned the Digimon over, deciding she liked his new appearance, "You're not so sickly looking as before. You're starting to look more like a real Digimon should."

When Kincaid first came into contact with her servant, he had been in an In-Training , barely distinguishable from a lifeless Golem. Golems were data that started out originally as newly created Digimon, but were unable to survive the strain of life. They were little more than automatons that followed any orders from the high-level Digimon and looked down upon by the true Digimon. They were, to use the terminology she learned here, pretty much undead. She took pity on the In-Training (she despised what the Golems represented and hated to add one more to their loathsome number), and helped him until he had, with her aid, digivolved to his more stable Rookie form. She could see he had originally been a virus from the web, one that happened to come into contact with Digimon data, and mutated. Thanasi - no, it was Kaminmon now, wasn't it? – looked to be very promising.

Kaminmon only smiled, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, baring his gums further, blind devotion in his eyes. "I thank you for your praise, my lady."

Kincaid waved his thanks aside, noticing the limp form laid across Kaminmon's bony back. "Is that the one?"

"Yes. The human boy with the virus-Digimon Guilmon."

"Why's he unconscious?"

The four-legged Digimon made a valiant effort to shrug. "I can't really say, my lady. Perhaps humans are too weak to withstand the journey through my Divine Mist."

Kincaid made a sound of disapproval. "Most likely. They're all so frail, it's a wonder the next stray breeze doesn't blow them away," she gestured for her friend to follow her, heading toward the hulking mass of the Juggernaut. "As long as he's alive, it doesn't really matter. Did you get his Digivice?"

Kaminmon, trotting at her side, ducked his equine head in sincere apology. "I was not able to retrieve it. The boy dropped it just before the first journey through my portals."

"You're going to go back and get it." It was an order, not a question.

"Yes, my lady."

"Good. But don't forget he's still your charge: until he's ready to help us, I'll have to make sure none of those upstairs knows of what's going on. Be quick about finding it." Kincaid stopped before the Juggernaut, holding her glowing hand so that she could see the plating of the huge machine. She began to feel around the uneven metal surface with her free hand, "Remember how important our work is here. We're doing this for all Digimon. Not just ourselves."

"So no more have to become Golems…" Kaminmon murmured. He was apparently remembering his own brush with that miserable existence. "And because we're running out of time."

"Exactly." Kincaid got down on her hands on knees, searching around the base of the Juggernaut.

"Stay back," she warned, her hand hovering over the hidden switch. Kaminmon dutifully stepped backward with a clattering of hooves against the concrete floor as Kincaid pressed her palm to the jagged chunk of metal. With a hiss, the plating of the Juggernaut swung open. Steam roiled away from the machine, curling around her legs.

Kaminmon looked more than a little startled. "What is this?"

"It's Yamaki's Juggernaut," Kincaid patted the opened plates. "But I made some changes to it. We're going to use this to channel the energy we're going to need for our work."

She stepped away as Kaminmon looked inside curiously. Instead of the chips and wires from Yamaki's plan, there were heaving coils of various sizes which constantly shifted, giving the impression they moved on their own. Silly of her imagination (she knew the Juggernaut wasn't alive, and though she installed a personality matrix into it, along with her other "adjustments", she hadn't done anything with the matrix – it was still a blank slate). It wasn't alive. At least, not in the sense she was - and even if she decided to have something imprint the matrix with a personality, the Juggernaut would only be a false life, feeding off the host.

_But the Juggernaut can absorb enough energy for my purposes. If we have the matrix running, it would probably be easier to direct the Juggernaut's influence._ At the moment, the machine was blindly grasping for a power source. _Interesting. It doesn't know what it is but it's still attempting to complete itself_.

"Here, see this?" Kincaid reached in, and brushed aside the thick coils with her arms, revealing a large sloping metal capsule. It was cut into several sections in a reclining position, almost resembling a throne. "This is part of the personality matrix I installed into the Juggernaut. It's not operating at full power because it's not finished."

"What about the humans? Won't they attempt to complete this thing?"

'They won't be able to come down here. One of our operatives has seen to that. We can't have the Juggernaut being finished," Kincaid answered. "Otherwise they're bound to notice this isn't what was in the original blueprints."

Kincaid removed her arm, shaking away the little wires that attached themselves to her arm. The coils had been trying to absorb the digital energy around her hand. They fell back in disappointment, shifting with a creaking sound amongst themselves. "I decided I'm going to implement the matrix into our work. You _do_ know we're going to be using Golems as well?"

A grunt. Kaminmon, (strangely enough), had an intense hatred for them, even though he had been close to becoming one himself. "I do now."

"There're no objections?"

"None, my lady."

"And what about the boy?" Kincaid asked. "I know how you feel toward humans, but I need you to be moderately cooperative with this one."

"Whatever your wish is, I shall carry it out," said Kaminmon. "How I feel has little significance."

"Good," Kincaid thrust her hand back in the moving coils, pushing them aside, "See it stays that way. Now help me put him inside the matrix. I had it built for a human body, so he should fit."

Kaminmon warily approached the exposed interior, rearing up on his hind legs and planting his hooves next to her hands. She removed her arms and picked up the unconscious boy with ease, barely giving him a glance. She turned around as Kaminmon made a sound of protest. The wires had sunk themselves into the hocks of his hooves and were steadily dodging his attempts to bite them off.

"Hold still!"

Kaminmon tried to steel himself, looking away as more wires dug into his fur. Holding the limp form braced against her shoulder with one hand, Kincaid reached through the mass and pushed open the top of the sheet of white metal. She leaned further in, trading the boy from one arm to the other, and placed him in the embrace of the matrix.

"I'm almost done," Kincaid said. Her servant nodded, as Kincaid returned to her work. She remembered she built it so there were various pieces to the matrix: plates for the chest, the arms, the hands, the legs, and the head. She had all of it except for the head plate. It had to be somewhere nearby. Kincaid leaned further into the machine, her hand searching about blindly in the moving coils. Her fingers closed about the smooth edge of something, briefly touched the round smooth surface. She pulled the object out, and fitted it on the boy. It covered the top of his head, though it left the lower half of his face open to the air. She flipped the chest plate back, so that is was snuggly against him and began to snap the arm and hand plates over him

Kincaid removed her arms, stepping back and motioning for Kaminmon to do the same. The Champion gratefully pulled his cloven hooves from the shifting masses, wincing as small wires were ripped from his fur. He watched with mild fascination as the coils settled around the capsule, the wires now latching onto the boy. Kaminmon rubbed at one hoof with the other and stared as a wire snaked out from the helmet-like headgear and sunk into an exposed cheek.

And that was that. Kincaid shut the enormous doors of the Juggernaut. Kaminmon took a few steps backward, the fur on his snout blowing backward from the gust of air the machine sent off.

"It's going to be a few days before the Juggernaut's personality matrix will completely accept him," Kincaid told him. She started to stride past. "I want you to find his Digivice and bring it to not to travel through the digital plane if you can help it, otherwise you're going to have to deal with those tracers again. In the meanwhile, after you find his Digivice, you're to contact the next target."

Kaminmon cantered to keep up with her. "It's a Digimon, isn't it?"

"Yes. A Rookie." Kincaid started to pull on her glove again, and thought better of it. "And a potential ally. I want you to try to get him to understand our cause. Treat him cordially."

"What if he doesn't want to cooperate with us?"

Kincaid shrugged: they were at the sealed door again. "Then he'll be the first meal the Juggernaut's going to absorb. One Digimon's deletion isn't going to matter if we're going to save all of them."

"The whole is always more important then the individual," Kaminmon intoned, and ducked his head as Kincaid rewarded him with a smile of approval. "I remembered what you told me when I was Thanasimon."

Kincaid pulled on her gloves, bathing the room once again in darkness.

"You're a good servant. And a friend." Kincaid said. "You've chosen to do the right thing by volunteering for this. In a few days, we'll see our work pay off."

She ran a hand playfully through his fur for a moment.

"Don't get yourself deleted by those humans. Not when we're so close."

**To be continued...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Going through the chapter to put in the chapter breaks as well as some editing.


	4. Day 3: Abandoned Goggles

**Digital Shuffle**

By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Digimon isn't mine. This fanfic is for fun.

**Author's Note**: Not much to say. As of 10/2012, I'm going in and fixing up some stuff. The writing's pretty old school in my opinion (hello, 2001!self), so I'll be making some edits while I go. Anyway, thanks for reading.

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**(Day 3 – Abandoned Goggles)**

"You aren't hungry?"

Ruki scowled at the bowl of cereal sitting in front of her on the table. She had only taken a few bites.

"No."

The older woman sighed and began collecting the dishes. "But I thought you liked oatmeal."

The Tamer got to her feet. "Well, you thought wrong. I hate the stuff." She left the room without waiting for her grandmother's reply, practically slamming the shoji screen behind her. _Who cares about oatmeal? You'd think she's got oatmeal on the brain or something._ Ruki stormed down the outside corridor. She knew she was taking it out on her grandmother: the poor woman hadn't done anything wrong except try to be friendly to her.

Ruki stopped at the screen to her room, one hand resting on the frame. She didn't turn to see who was behind her: she already knew.

"Ruki?"

"Yes?"

Renamon's voice was low. "You're worried, aren't you? And afraid…about what we found last night."

Ruki let out a strained laugh. "Me? Worried? Afraid? Think you've got the wrong girl, Renamon"

Silence.

"Ruki, you can talk to me. I'm not going to make judgments. I'm your partner, remember?"

The Tamer hesitated. It would be nice to talk to Renamon. They were equals after all, weren't they? But what if Renamon only laughed at her? _She'd probably think I'm acting like a crybaby. _No, some things were best kept private. Ruki slid the shoji screen open so she could slip through. Behind her, Renamon sighed, but made no attempt to come in after her. She knew her partner wanted privacy._  
_

Ruki began to move about the darkened room, at first avoiding the table in the center as she packed her school materials into her backpack. She paused as a clap of thunder sounded from somewhere in the distance, threatening rain. Her mother had run off earlier for another photo shoot, which would probably get rained on pretty soon and ruin that expensive dress of hers.

Ruki knew she was trying to pretend nothing was wrong. That she hadn't found the objects now lying on her desk. _What am I so afraid of? _Ruki turned and quickly approached the desk. Vaguely, she wished they'd disappear in front of her very eyes. She stared at them for a long moment, half-expecting them to vanish. They refused to blip out of existence despite her mental prodding.

_ This is so stupid. Everyone's probably laughing at me for acting like such a baby!_

_ I'll show them._

She swept the goggles and the red-trimmed D-Arc into her backpack and closed it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya struggled into his vest, groping around for the zipper. The power returned around ten last night and he got home an hour and a half later after fighting through the jammed subway. He spent the rest of the night trying to do his homework, probably a lost cause because he was having a hard time concentrating and it felt like he'd only gotten four hours of sleep._  
_

He felt like a zombie. A zombie who wanted to roll back into bed._  
_

Terriermon wasn't in his room. Apparently Shuichon wandered in while Jenrya was still asleep and stole his partner away. Probably for a round of tea party and dress up. That, or a checkup with "Nurse Shuichon". _Guess I better rescue him again. Starting to feel sorry for the poor guy_. Jenrya shouldered his backpack as he checked his watch. Last night Ruki and he agreed to meet at the park close to school and he'd at least twenty minutes before classes started. Ruki had called the house several times before he got back, several new messaged blinking urgently on the answering machine. She sounded upset about something, though she did a good job at hiding the emotions. Her message was cryptic. When he called her back, she was close-mouthed.

S_he must've found something. _Jenrya forced his hopes not to rise too far He hated having them crushed. _She probably didn't find Takato or she would've said so._

Jenrya opened the door. Shuichon was camped out in the living room, her short legs dangling off the couch. His sister was speaking to herself, her growing collection of dolls and stuffed animals set up on the seat around her. Terriermon shot him a pleading glance from where he sat on a cushion, a tiny straw hat strapped to his head with an elastic band.

His dad must have ears like a fox, because he was already poking his head out of the kitchen.

"Jenrya, good morning!"

" 'Morning, Dad," Jenrya said, staring at Terriermon. He was going to have to figure a way to get the Rookie away from Shuichon without getting his sister upset. The poor Digimon looked ready to burst into embarrassed tears.

His dad nodded toward the kitchen. "We're having gai-lan and scrambled eggs."

Jenrya shook his head. Knowing his father's attempts at making food…okay, it was safe to say he couldn't cook to save his life. "I gotta meet someone before school, Dad. They're waiting for me."

"You don't know what you're missing, Jenrya."

"Sorry, Dad, but I can't keep them waiting." Jenrya eyed Shuichon, who was removing the straw hat from Terriermon, holding a fake toy stethoscope in the other hand. "You know how it is."

"Okay, okay. There's some pastries left over from dim sum with your grandparents," his father said. "Take those."

"Sure." Jenrya passed Terriermon, and, taking out the pastries from the pantry, stuffed them into his backpack. "Oh, and Dad?"

His dad concentrated on stirring the bubbling gai-lan sauce in the pan. "Hmm?"

"Could you take a look at my watch sometime tomorrow? It was acting really weird last night."

"Sure. After I get back from work, I'll see what I can do, okay?"

"Thanks, Dad," Jenrya glanced over his shoulder. Shuichon had turned away again to attend to a small plush bear. The Tamer hastily swept over, plucking Terriermon away from the couch and hurrying past his father, "Bye, Dad!"

He shut the door behind him, letting out a sigh of relief. Terriermon was now fixing him with a betrayed look. "Took you long enough!" Terriermon clambered up his arms until he was perched on the top of his backpack. "I thought you were gonna leave me behind!"

Jenrya headed down the empty hall. "I wasn't."

"Momentai, I guess." Terriermon poked him in the back of his neck with a stubby claw, "So, where're we goin' now?"

"We're meeting Ruki."

"About that message? Why didn't she just tell you straight out?"

"Look, I don't _know_, okay?"

"Y'don't have to be so touchy."

"Sorry."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Good morning, Mr. Yamaki."

Yamaki nodded to the secretary, stopping before her desk. "Have there been any messages for me?"

"No sir."

Yamaki turned on his heel, crossing the lobby. He was early, but he wanted to personally supervise the tech teams he called in last night. The prolonged blackout shot several of the network's computers. Not only that, but some of the data stored in the memory banks had been lost and he wasn't too keen on losing them for good. _God, I _hate_ babysitting. _Last time he left the tech team alone, they tried to upgrade every computer in the network, ignoring the fact _no_, he _hadn't_ okayed it.

He could feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on. Just thinking about it was giving him a headache.

It wasn't likehe was planning on resigning or anything. Yamaki once considered it, but quickly decided against it. The pay was pretty good, and besides…he had his own personal reasons for wanting all the wild Digimon gone from the Real World. Putting up with incompetent staff was really a small price to pay.

Yamaki strode across headed for the elevator. As he moved, he reached into his coat's lapels and pulled out his sunglasses. Someone – he was pretty sure it was Kei – once asked him why he wore the sunglasses indoors. Yamaki hadn't given an answer, instead giving her a stare until she swallowed and looked away, muttering about getting back to work.

Sure, it looked strange, but it was his business, not his employees'.Yamaki crossed his arms as he waited for the elevator. His eyes were still sensitive to lights after the Incident, but they were healing. They'd certainly improved from that time four years ago, when he'd first been injured.

Something he'd rather not think about.

The elevator door dinged as it arrived at the lobby, Yamaki stepping inside. It was starting slide its steel-plated doors closed.

"Wait!" someone called. "_Wait_!"

Yamaki leaned out and held one arm against the elevator door nearest him. A blur of bright purple went past him, trailing a mild scent of lilac.

"Thanks!"

He turned around, as the doors shut behind him. It was Kincaid. The tech who teased him about smoking.

"Aren't you a little early?" Yamaki asked, raising an eyebrow behind his sunglasses.

Kincaid shrugged, a smile flickering on her lips. "I'm an early bird. Besides, I like working here, and I don't mind if I get a few more hours."

"You're not working as replacement today, are you?"

"No, sir." Kincaid replied. "But would it be alright if I stayed up in the Yuggoth deck? I could learn faster if I watched Kei and Reika at work."

Yamaki considered this. To be frank, he didn't like allowing any unnecessary personnel up there. Yamaki had been quite literally tripping on everyone the last time he allowed it, until he had made the area restricted to only the necessary personnel and those he personally cleared.

"I'll think about it."

"Thanks."

The two were quiet for a moment as the elevator traveled upward.

She spoke up again, her silver lined eyes staring intently at him. "Um…could I ask you something?"

"Knock yourself out."

Kincaid didn't seem to hear the indifference in his voice, shoving her hands in the pockets of her uniform's slacks. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then back at him.

"When you delete a Digimon, what happens to its data?"

Yamaki blinked, his eyebrow quirking at this unexpected question. The procedure of deletion he expected everyone to know, but thinking about it now, he never bothered to explain what happened _after_. He had been primarily concerned with getting results, not having his personnel informed on the rest because it shouldn't impact their work. It wasn't a classified secret or anything and he couldn't think of any intelligent reason why he shouldn't tell her.

"I'm curious." Kincaid added, "I could never figure out what happened after a deletion had been confirmed."

Yamaki reached up to straighten his sunglasses. "It depends on the circumstances, if the Digimon has bio-emerged or not. It's more difficult to deal with bio-emerged Digimon because we can't use the Yuggoth to deal with it. It's not in the digital plane. I created the system to deal with what's developing online, not the Real World," Yamaki paused, and Kincaid nodded. She was following him, so he continued. "If we're able to delete a Wild One before bio-emerging, then we simply collect the leftover data."

"Why collect it? It's still a Digimon – in a way – isn't it?"

"It's really only basic data, without any of the faulty programming," Yamaki replied. He once again had to curse those programmers for even creating their "game" in the first place. "We're only left with the useful data, nothing of the 'memories', the 'personality', or even the base AI."

"Just pure data."

"Just pure data," he agreed.

She thought about this for a few seconds. "So, why do you even bother to collect it? Why don't you just delete it for good?"

Yamaki shrugged. "We've been using the data for the research, to learn more about these creatures. Besides, the data's recyclable. It would be a waste to throw it out if we can still use it."

"Ah…" Kincaid said. "And you keep this data in the network?"

Yamaki nodded. She most likely came across some of the files or programs in her past work and had probably been wondering about their nature. In fact, regarding the deletion data, some of it from the last deletion had been going through the transfer procedure yesterday, which was what he was trying to save from being lost.

There was a ding as the elevator slowly slid open. Kincaid strode forward, and turned around, giving a small wave, satisfied with his answers. "Guess I get off here! Thanks!"

Yamaki didn't return the gesture, the doors closing. He was busy going over the conversation just now. On the surface it was harmless. But given all the backstabbing and politics from before with the Four, and knowing Kincaid was one of Nagamora's "recommendations", Yamaki had to wonder.

He suddenly felt uneasy, though about what, he couldn't place a finger on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya leaned against the tree as he tried to avoid getting drenched by the downpour. In his hurry to get out of the apartment, he didn't see the thunderheads, nor hear the rolling thunder and so he forgot to bring an umbrella. Or even a decent raincoat, for that matter. The Tamer didn't like the idea of freezing his butt off, but that was exactly what he was doing. Too late to turn back and go back home.

The two arrived at the park a few minutes ago, around the time the sky broke overhead and began to dump buckets of water on their heads. Terriermon took refugee near the wall, pressing as close he could, making a point of looking everywhere but at his friend. Jenrya was pretty sure he was still sulking at his outburst, despite his apologies. At this point, Jenrya probably shouldn't try to apologize again; it'd be best if he just let the little guy sulk it out.

Luckily for the two of them the trees provided enough cover that the sheets of rain didn't penetrate enough to soak them, only enough to be a light drizzle. Not too far from where Jenrya stood, the rain pounded into the pond in the distance, water lapping at the rocky shore. Even the ducks normally frequenting the man-made pool were gone, taking shelter from the storm.

_Ruki better hurry up. I'm not standing out here because I _want_ to._

He rubbed at his arms, trying to rub some warmth into them.

"Jenrya!"

Jenrya glanced over at the sound of the voice. Ruki ran toward him, holding a umbrella over her head as she approached, dressed in her school's uniform. He didn't see Renamon, but he guessed she was probably right behind her partner. Ruki splashed through a puddle, hopping down the last few steps and jogging the rest of the way until she was standing under the tree. Renamon appeared, perched on the lowest branch.

"Bad way to start the day, Ruki," Jenrya said. "What took you?"

She shrugged it off. "I'm only a few minutes late. Don't make such a big deal out of nothing."

"What did you drag me out here for?" Jenrya asked, his mouth a thin line. "I don't suppose you had better luck than I did."

The expression on Ruki's face was a troubled one. "Actually…"

Jenrya's heart skipped a beat and he quickly forgot he was cold and annoyed. "You found something?"

"Yeah." Ruki said, glancing up at Renamon. Her partner nodded almost imperceptibly. "Look, I'll just tell you what happened on our search, so you don't have to bother trying to grill me for info."

She went on.

"We took Impmon with us before you left with Guilmon. At first, he was a real pain. He kept making all these snide remarks and he only shut when I threatened to gag him. We took the bus to Tokyo Tower – we spent a long time looking around the area, but we didn't find anything until…" Ruki trailed off.

Renamon picked up her train of thought up, continuing for her partner. "I couldn't go into the Tower until the blackout. Impmon was right. We _did_ find something. Ruki?"

Her Tamer slowly slung her backpack from her shoulder. Unclasping the flap, she opened it, and, reaching in, pulled out two objects, holding them out toward Jenrya for inspection. Jenrya froze as he instantly recognizing them, staring in surprise. Terriermon made a sound of surprise, just as startled as his human partner.

Dangling from her fingers was a pair of goggles with blue-tinted lenses: ones which could usually be seen on Takato Matsuda's head. In her palm was an equally as familiar D-Arc, the casing decorated with fire-red trimming.

"Those are Takato's!" Jernrya exclaimed.

"No _duh_, Sherlock." Ruki said. The normal sarcasm had a worried undertone.

"You said you found these at Tokyo Tower?"

"Yeah. I also found his cards. But no Takato."

"So he _was_ at the Tower," Jenrya mused. What was he doing there?Why would Takato leave all of this? Not that Takato vanishing made any sense in the first place, but this confused him further. Something's not right. Jenrya bit his lip. From the looks of it, Takato had been prepared for a Digimon battle. But why didn't he take Guilmon? _What's the point of going after a wild Digimon if you don't even bring your own partner? _Guilmon would've mentioned going off with Takato for a battle, but he hadn't said anything yesterday. Yet Takato had been obviously expecting a fight…and…Guilmon hadn't gone with him, hadn't even known about it. It didn't add up.

It suddenly struck him maybe Takato hadn't run away.

Something happened.

"Something's wrong with this picture." Jenrya didn't like this. It was one thing if Takato simply ran away, but if something happened to him, that was a completely different matter. Jenrya refused to consider the fact his friend might be hurt. Takato knew what he was doing, and even if he didn't encourage fights unlike Ruki, he was usually careful and he seemed to have his share of luck.

"Well?" Ruki spoke up impatiently.

"Um…" Jenrya tapped his chin, trying to formulate a plan of action. "There's really nothing we can do," his voice rose warningly as he saw Ruki about to interrupt, "We have his D-Arc, his goggles and his cards. That doesn't clear up anything. We still don't know _where_ Takato is or what he's doing. We're back where we started."

Renamon nodded from her place on the branch, leaning over and looking down at the group underneath the tree. "He has a point. We don't know anything – " she cut off, a paw flying to her mouth as she realized something. Renamon pounded the side of her perch, showering bark and leaves on those below, "Of course! How could I be so foolish?"

"What?" Jenrya asked.

Renamon bared her fangs in a grimace, "Impmon! In the confusion last night, we didn't get a chance to find out exactly what he saw and I have a feeling he saw quite a bit. Enough to answer our questions."

Ruki scowled. "We get careless for a second and things fall apart. So, Jenrya ? What do you want to do?"

Jenrya. He wasn't pleased he was suddenly tagged down with all the decision-making. _I'm _not_ leader-material._ Yet Ruki apparently decided she didn't want the responsibility and dumped it in his lap. Jenrya shook his head. "I'm gonna keep looking for him. We didn't check the area around his house yet. You didn't find anything else last night?"

"No. Just what I've got here."

"Renamon, could you try to find Impmon again?"

"I won't guarantee anything, but I can certainly try." Renamon stood up, shaking off the drizzle beading her golden coat.

"Great. Ruki, what about you? You want to help search?"

Ruki shook her head. "I can't. My mom's dragging me to her photo shoot," she grimaced. Then, as if an afterthought, "Sorry."

Jenrya didn't immediately reply, instead nodding at goggles and D-Arc in Ruki's hands, "What about those?"

Ruki slowly glanced down at them, as if she was completely surprised to find them still in her hands. She looked taken aback. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with them."

"I'd take his D-Arc off your hands, but I'm afraid my little sister might get a hold of it. I could take his goggles, if that would make things any better."

Ruki handed him the goggles, obviously relieved to get rid of them.

"Look, I've got to get going, otherwise I'll be late," she said at last. Ruki turned away, "Call me if anything comes up." She motioned for Renamon to follow her. "Let's go."

She turned on her heel, stepping back out into the pouring rain and ducking under her umbrella. Renamon leapt away from the branch, disappearing in midair as she hastened after her partner, leaving Jenrya standing under the tree's cover. It was a few long moments after Ruki disappeared past the wall and down the street before anyone spoke up.

"Jeez, I don't know 'bout you, but I'm even more confused," Terriermon said.

Jenrya shivered, suddenly reminded of the fact he was freezing his butt off, "You said it, Terriermon." He reached down and picked his partner up. One way or another they'd figure this out. Jenrya ducked his head and ran out into the rain as the black clouds roiled in the sky.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Six hours later)

He dreamed.

The wind thundered through the valley, ruffling the young boy's hair. He kept close to the grassy ground on his hands and knees because the gusts were strong and he was scared he'd be blown right off his feet somehow. He didn't know _how_ he got on the small meadow near the base of the mountain range but it didn't seem strange to him. It was only a simple fact he was _here_, wherever _here_ was. At least it wasn't any place really weird, like the moon. What with all the weird stuff going on, he almost half-expected he'd end up there. It was a relief to be on good, old planet Earth.

**What are you?**

_I'm a human. _He was confused, for a moment wondering why he was asking himself such a weird question.

**What are you?**

_I'm me_. He replied confidently to the doubt.

**What are you?**

_ I'm a Tamer. _The boy continued on. Inch by inch, he traveled, making slow progress as he crawled on his hands and knees. He didn't know where he was going, only that it seemed like a good idea to move forward. A blast of roaring wind tugged at him. The boy sprawled on the ground, digging his fingers into the dirt as he held on for dear life, dust flying.

**Who are you? What type of program are you?**

_ I'm Takato Matsuda. And I'm not a program_.

Takato reached up, pulling the goggles he wore on his head down over his eyes. His vision became blue-tinted as he lowered his head, a particularly strong gust spinning and dancing overhead. As soon as it passed, he resumed crawling.

** Are you a foreign system?**

_ …I…guess. _Though Takato had never considered himself as that. _Suppose that's one way of looking at it_. The sharp whistling died down, and he sat up, finally able to take a good look around him. He had been steadily moving uphill, but because of the pressing wind; he hadn't been able to clearly see where his path was taking him.

To his surprise, the familiar form of Jenrya Lee was perched on a rock only a few yards away, one leg crossed over the other, apparently waiting for him. He stared right at him.

**Why are you here?**

Takato didn't give an answer, instead waving happily at his friend. The other boy waved back, smiling and beckoning him over. Takato got to his knees, pushing himself to his feet. If Jenrya was here, then so was everyone else! He had only to meet up with the other Tamer so he could be with the rest of his friends. Why, he was only a few steps away. It would be so easy just to stomp right on over and demand to join in the game of hide-and-seek: he still loved the game and it looked like everyone (except Jenrya, unless he had picked the _worst_ hiding spot in the world) was playing it, because he saw no sign of the others.

**A virus? No…not a virus…**

** A companion system?**

The expression on Jenrya's face froze, the smile suddenly looking false and hollow.

** The companion system possesses foreign code. A compatibility scan must be initiated before merging can be authorized.**

Takato's eyes flared open, suddenly awake. At first he couldn't see anything and for a long second he thought he was blind. Stark fear gripped him. Takato tried to sit up. His hands and arms refused to budge, locked down to whatever he was lying on: his quick movement gave his arms both a sharp wrench, though, strangely enough, it didn't hurt. Takato hadn't any more luck with his head. He had done the smart thing and given himself a minor case of whiplash and a huge bruise on the forehead trying to jerk away.

Whatever surrounding him twitched at his sudden motion.

** …?**

**Is this pain?**

_Where am I?! _ Takato still couldn't see. Something blocked his range of vision, something heavy and frightening him further more. Not only that, but he was surrounded with _things_: they felt like hundreds of thick coils, shifting and moving like a nest of snakes. Takato barely suppressed a terrified yelp as something brushed over his leg. For a few minutes, he struggled furiously, trying to free himself. Takato only succeeded in tiring himself out, panting for breath.

He was trapped. He didn't know where he was, how long he'd been there. Takato sank back into his seat, feeling drained. His eyes started to water as it sank in.

The only thing that stopped him from hollering for his mom was the fact he was exhausted. His lack of vision worked much like a pair of blinders on a horse did. Because he couldn't see where he was, he didn't panic as much as he could. His eyes continued to burn as the first tear crept out.

**Initiating scan.**

Takato's muscles tensed for a moment and then relaxed.

**Scan complete. Compatibility confirmed.**

_What is this? Who are you?!_ Takato demanded, suddenly on the offensive as the involuntary tears trailed down his cheeks. He remembered the strange questions from his dream, the ones he was sure he himself had been asking.

That hadn't been him after all.

**You are with me now. I am now your companion system, Takato Matsuda.**

The "voice" wasn't truly speaking, neither in his mind nor out loud. Strangely enough, the young Tamer had no problems understanding it, whatever "it" was. He simply knew what it meant. More like a feeling than a language.. The feeling wasn't menacing, and Takato relaxed slightly, sensing no immediate danger from the huge presence surrounding him. Heck, it might even be friendly and help him out.

_Who are you? _Takato cautiously asked, trying to turn his head toward where he thought the feeling came from. It didn't occur to him the scan might have calmed his nerves down a little, why he wasn't going into a full-blown panic.

**I am the Juggernaut.**

Takato started to reach up to brush away his drying tears, but only got a few centimeters before his right arm bruised itself on a thick curve of metal. Again, his skin proved to be numb to the pain he knew he should be feeling. The presence flinched. Something slithered over his right shoulder, pushing him gently back into the seat.

**Please refrain from moving.**

Takato tried to shrug the object off, shivering. It _did_ feel like a big snake, scale smooth, and he had a nasty little mental image of being surrounded by thousands of snakes, venom dripping.

_Why? I want to go home! _

**Home? You belong here. We are compatible systems.**

Takato shook his head. _I don't know what you're talking about!_ He felt himself stiffen as something brushed against his neck, preventing him from bolting out of the seat. Without thinking, he viciously sunk his teeth into the coil, biting down as hard as he could.

His left arm immediately exploded into pain. Something ground his skin into the bone, his nerves screaming as it gnawed mercilessly down on his wrist. Takato gasped and quickly spat out the coil, eyes starting to water again as the semi-circle of fire on his arm slowly ebbed down to a painful throb.

**We are symbiotic because of the corresponding nature of our programs.** The Juggernaut didn't seem to be aware of the fact he bit a part of it. It only noticed his reaction.** We are connected.**

**But we are not one. System Takato Matsuda possesses unidentified flaws. An extensive background check is required before the merging operation can further proceed. Estimated duration of background check: [LOADING] . . . . four days.**

Takato tried to blink away the tears that were forming again. _Background check? Flaws?_

** Flaw – defined as an often hidden defect that may cause failure under stress; a faulty part. Immaterial defect or weakness in something; to become defective.**

_I know what a flaw is!_

The Juggernaut continued patiently. **For a merge to be successful, it is essential one of the companion systems be flawed. System Takato Matsuda – that is, you – are very flawed, according to the scan. But because the system is still a foreign one, a background check must be taken.**

But Takato was just a normal kid...

One who wanted to go home, to his friends and family.

_Now._

**Impossible. There can be no separation once a connection is established between systems.** A pause, as the Juggernaut's coils pressed in more closely on the boy's body. Almost like they were inhaling. **Level 8 background check file opened. [LOADING]** The coils withdrew, though several looped themselves underneath Takato's chin, keeping him pressed firmly against the head of his seat despite his struggles. He only succeeded in (intelligently) banging the back of his head into the seat and gagging as the coils tightened in reaction, then relaxed, allowing him to breathe again.

**Background check on first imperfection: relationship with living data.**

Takato gasped as the blinders were abruptly removed, flooding with light.

The sun sprinkled the grass with a flecks of light through the leaves. It was warm weather, exactly the type he loved, and there was the slightest breeze tousling Takato's hair. He found himself leaning against the shadowed embrace of a towering oak. It was the park where he took Guilmon to play with Juri only a few days ago. It looked a lot greener then he remembered, but he supposed he had a bad memory. What was he doing here? And was the Juggernaut still here, or had it…_magicked_ him away or something?

** No, I have not "magicked" you anywhere. The file merely picked out the first flaw and targeted on the most recent incident in your memory.**

This thing could read his mind now?

**The connection between companion systems allows the exchange of brainwaves and electrical signals. I do not "think" in the same way you do and I do not "read" your mind. ** Takato couldn't think of anything to reply, and so said nothing, only staring around in wary confusion. He still couldn't figure just how he had gotten from wherever he had been to the park.

**You are not actually in the park, Takato Matsuda. This is only your memory of recent events: physically, you are still in me.** The Juggernaut continued, apparently deciding the conversation wasn't worth pursuing. **First defect – you have established a connection between you and a collection of living data. Not only is that listed as a forbidden operation in my databanks, it has also made you further defective.**

For a second, Takato blinked in confusion. Collection of living data? He didn't know anything about living data…unless…_what, Guilmon?_

**Yes. The creature you refer to as Guilmon.  
**

Takato felt his anger rise. He had a strong feeling this wasn't a compliment to his partner and exclaimed, "Guilmon's a great friend! He hasn't done anything to make me messed up!" He didn't like the idea there was something really wrong with him and the idea it was _Guilmon's_ fault was even worse.

**That means nothing. You depend on him, mere data, to protect you and those you care for – flesh and blood. Because of your connection with him, you have grown weak as a human.**

"T-that's not true!"

The Juggernaut ignored his protest. **Humans were never meant to coexist with digital data. The humans created the artificial life, but it is the data that must override the creators. A relationship between data and humans will only lead to failure.**

"We're best friends!" Takato glared up at the tree, where he decided the Juggernaut's "speech" was coming from. "We're not failures."

**Data is superior to the human race when it bio-emerges. Humans are weak in the flesh and mortal. Data can always be deleted and sent back into the network and reformatted for another form.** The leaves rattled in the breeze, rustling together. **Humans die. Humans are nothing without their technology. They are weak.**

Takato didn't say anything, though he wished he had some earmuffs so he could clap them on his head and drown everything out. He didn't like listening to this...and he especially didn't like that despite his desperate wish to believe the Juggernaut was a complete liar, he was sure he could sense a ring of truth in its "words".

**Living data thrives on change and progress. Like myself, it can be parasitic. It often is. Your connection with Guilmon is an example of a parasitic relationship.**

"Guilmon's not a parasite!"

**Is he? How would you be able to tell? You always assumed since he speaks like a child, he therefore possesses the mind of a child.**

"I…" Takato trailed off. He could always deny it, insist he and Guilmon were totally equal, buddies. Friends, yeah, but sometimes he had, deep down, been convinced he was the brains of the duo, that his partner Digimon would be helpless without him. _I _did_ treat him like a kid. I always thought I knew what was best for him because I created him…_

The Juggernaut took his silence as a gesture to continue.

**The creator is not always correct. How would you know if your "partner" really cared for you? Caring is a human term. I cannot feel it and it is impossible as well for digital information, for zeros and ones, to feel it.**

** So how _would_ you know? He might merely be using you for his own ends, for all you know.**

Takato pushed himself away from the tree trunk. "You're just a big, dumb machine! You don't know _anything_ about humans or Digimon!"

**On the contrary. I have many files and programs regarding the subject matter.**

Takato stubbornly crossed his arms behind his head, trying to appear to be relaxed and in total control of the situation. _This machine's wrong: it's gotta__ be. What could a computer know about human emotions?_ But the Juggernaut seemed to have him pegged. Just like a bug under the microscope. Takato shivered, though the air was quite warm. If he kept the Juggernaut talking, then maybe he wouldn't have to return to that blindness. It was nicer here, to be able to see and feel, then that brief memory of the inability to see, the feeling of _things_ twisting and writhing around him.

**Your memory is more pleasant than the reality, Takato Matsuda.**

Takato pretended to ignore the "voice", making a point of staring across the park.

**It is nice here, is it not? No Guilmon to feed. No arguments with your friends, no battles. No parents. You do not ever have to worry about Guilmon being caught and experimented on here…**

"Shut up."

**Invalid command**.

The leaves of the towering trees whispered. **Perhaps you do not see your error in your relationship with Guilmon. It is listed as a forbidden operation for a reason - a relationship with data and a human is wrong. It is natural for the strong to conquer the weak. They cannot be "equal", because the strong are unable to resist the opportunity to manipulate the weak. **

**I have little doubt your relationship with Guilmon is turning out to be such, even if your "partner" is only resorting to petty manipulations as of yet. **

**Observe.**

Takato watched, rooted to the spot, as a large blotch of red exited the bushes from the opposite end of the park. Guilmon loped out, followed by two people. Takato realized with a start he was looking at _himself_. The other Takato trudged along, laughing and talking with Juri as he trailed after Guilmon, hands full of several bags of day old and day-day old bread from his parent's bakery.

Guilmon suddenly ran ahead, chasing after the fluttering wings of a passing butterfly. He raced away from the humans behind him toward the center of the park. The other Takato called out to him to wait up, but the Rookie didn't seem to hear him or was ignoring his calls. The other Tamer doggedly followed after him. Guilmon once again disobeyed him, as usual.

In fact, thinking about it, Guilmon disobeyed him a lot. It was like in one ear, out the other.

** Have you wondered why Guilmon stayed with you?**

"No". _Yes_. Takato knew he wasn't the best Tamer in the world.

**It is because humans have a strength living data do not: the power of _will_. The will of humans is purely organic, yet it is because of this that some of your species are able to wish on something and have it come _true_. It is impossible for any AI to do this. A Digimon normally needs to upload data to digivolve, but it has likely become obvious to you that your Guilmon can digivolve to his next level without uploading any data at all.**

"What does that have to do with anything?" Takato asked, watching as Guilmon ploughed recklessly through a flock of sparrows, causing the birds to scatter.

**Everything. A Digimon needs energy to digivolve. It has never been specified whether it has to be digital energy or some other source**. The Juggernaut paused. **But a digivolution still requires an energy source. It does not matter if the creature is "wild" or not…**

Takato didn't say anything, though he was now listening with half an ear in a sort of morbid fascination.

**Guilmon is using _you_ as an energy source. **This question didn't bring any answer.** He does not need to when he has you. Your will alone enables him to reach the next level, yet you are not strong enough to control him. Not only do you fuel his digivolutions, you are also responsible for taking care of him: feeding him, playing with him, looking out after him. You fulfill any wish he has, jumping at the mere beginning of a complaint…**

**The perfect little puppet.**

Takato watched as his other self tried to chase after Guilmon through the grass, still holding his partner's lunch. He realized how silly he looked then, loping along at an awkward jog after Guilmon, as Juri ran easily next to him, giggling as the other-Takato tried to juggle the bags in his hands. Guilmon was now far ahead, losing himself in the bushes as he suddenly decided to play hide-and-seek.

_A puppet?_ No, Takato made his own choices. It had been his choice to stick by Guilmon's side up till now, and he wasn't going to change his mind any time soon.

**This doesn't trouble you?**

"Guilmon's honest. And he doesn't have a shred of selfishness in him." Takato replied stoutly, "I believe in him."

The branches of the tree creaked, the light that escaped through the leaves dancing in patches on the ground. **Perhaps. Perhaps not.**

The park scene abruptly vanished, replaced with black space that stretched out for eternity, bisected by lines of blue, green and red. The digital lines wavered like a mirage. Takato lost contact with the ground, floating in the darkness. He was pretty sure he wasn't hallucinating (he'd count himself _lucky_ if all of what had happened so far was only due to his active imagination), yet a little back portion of his mind kept babbling he _couldn't_ be floating and that he was probably going to be afraid of heights soon.

Takato had to wonder what had happened to the park scene – and suddenly suffered a scared thought. What if the Juggernaut finished talking? Or throwing feelings at him, or whatever it did? Would he have to face being closed in again, blind?

**No, you will not be fully conscious until the background check is completed.**

Was he asleep then? He remembered everything, didn't he?

**Yes and no.** The Juggernaut didn't make any attempt to explain itself. **Both my system and you have recognized your first defect –**

_I didn't agree you were right!_

** I never said you agreed to anything, but I have not received confirmation the companion system has rejected the possibility my logic might prove correct. And I, Takato Matsuda, am incapable of lying.**

Yeah, right. _So where am I now?_

**There is a short interval of five hours before the next check will begin. I must sort all the information I am receiving from you before I will continue. Humans are complex creatures and the data will take a while to be sorted. After the background checks are completed, we will be able to proceed with the merging.**

_Are all these checks like that one?_

**Yes. The purpose is to categorize the defects for future correction.**

_I'm not going to listen to you._

This earned the only slightest hesitation from the Juggernaut. The feeble threat didn't do anything to faze the other.

**It is difficult to know one's true feelings. Only an outside observer can reveal these to you, companion system. But, like all things, this will take time.**

**I have all the time in the world. I am patient.**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid looked at her watch, pushing back sweaty bangs. It was almost evening. She'd been so caught up in her work she hadn't noticed the hours fly by.

The young woman sat back on her heels, examining her work. It took longer than she thought but she finally finished making the adjustments. She was miffed she hadn't been able to get back onto the Yuggoth deck. Yamaki hadn't given her the go-ahead and she was so busy she hadn't been able to remind him. _Dammit._ She let out a frustrated sigh. _Hope Kaminmon doesn't decide to waltz into the digital plane any time soon – I didn't get a chance to fully conceal his signature._ She planned to attend to that when she was with the Yuggoth system again, it was a matter of getting in there without making Yamaki suspicious.

_Wonder how Kaminmon's doing with his search? _She knew he could probably find the lost D-Arc. Her servant had an uncanny ability for zeroing in on these sorts of things. Funny...she realized she never asked him how he could sense things like those. He just did. The thing was he had to be more careful. She only reminded him if he was going to be walking around the city, he was going to have to blend in; Kaminmon assured her he would do so.

_If this wasn't such a covert operation, I could probably bombard the gateway myself without having to take such a roundabout way._

Kincaid got to her feet. Her legs protested loudly, making a general nuisance of themselves because she hadn't moved much today. She hated that part of being in this human shape. The general makeup was pretty weak and frail, and it didn't take much for it to start bitching at her because she put strain on it. Not to mention it was always _cold!_ No fur, just a pathetic covering of thin hair. So she always ended up freezing her ass off whenever she had to resort to this shape, which was almost all the time.

_At least I don't have to stay like this forever._ She had to admit, she felt almost sorry for the humans. She only had to stay in this shape for a few months (a few years, at worst), and _they_ had to stay like that from birth to death. Kincaid supposed she could be a little more thankful when she thought of it in those terms.

Kincaid left the room. Though she hadn't started the real work of shattering the gateway, the small holes in it were still open. With the size they had grown to by now, she wouldn't be surprised if a Digimon decided to show up today. _Someone __should warn them about the tiger waiting at the other side_. Hypnos was most definitely a dangerous little organization, already a sign the humans were as dangerous as she suspected. At first, it seemed like a pointless waste – she hadn't known what happened to the data when they deleted Digimon, and if another wasn't uploading it, than it was being uselessly squandered.

But then she had found out what Yamaki did with the data of the (unfortunately) deleted Digimon…

_Collected in one nice, neat little package._ Kincaid couldn't help a smile of triumph at this. She probably couldn't do anything with the data – _she_ didn't need to upload it – but it would be a good energy boost for the Juggernaut. Of course, she'd have to wait until the Juggernaut and the boy merged together before she could get anything done, but it couldn't hurt to plan ahead. _Even with all that data, we probably won't have enough to rip apart the closed bridge._ Even if she ordered a few Golems to take a suicide dive into the Juggernaut's pool, it wouldn't make much of a difference. The Golems were merely empty vessels.

But she was fine with that. She hated sacrificing a perfectly good Digimon when a Golem would do.

Kincaid wasn't completely sure if the Golems would be able to complete the task. She never before commanded one to act as a vessel, instead of cannon fodder. Kincaid wrapped a bright purple lock of hair around one covered finger, feeling particularly smug. She was quickly moving down the corridor, smiling at those who passed her and shot an idle glance out the window. The sun was once again setting through the clearing clouds.

_Things are going to work out. We _will_ be successful – I can feel it._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki sat down on the bench, tossing her backpack next to her. Somehow she managed to slip out of the studio: all the flashing lights of the photographers and her mother's constant tinkling laughter had drove her crazy. _Mom's too busy preening to notice anyone else but herself._ Ruki thought, irritated. Despite her attempts to act detached to her mother, it bugged her. Looking pretty and getting pictures taken was apparently more important then anything else. If that was the case, then why did Mom insist on dragging Ruki along with her?

She looked up. It was still drizzling, but not enough to bother taking out her umbrella again.

Ruki glanced at the backpack. It was closed, but she knew Takato's D-Arc was still in there. She didn't like holding it. It wasn't like she superstitious or anything, but carrying it with her made her uncomfortable. It only made her more concerned about Takato; _concerned_, not worried. She would never admit to worrying over _anyone_…well, maybe with the exception of a few people and Renamon. Ruki sometimes found Takato to be annoying and immature sometimes, but she knew she didn't _hate_ him.

There was a small breath of wind behind her neck.

"Ruki?"

The Tamer watched the people passing by, crowding the sidewalks. The voice was low, but audible, but with that special tone reserved only for her.

"Yes, Renamon?"

"Are you feeling any better?"

Ruki shook her head, speaking quietly as well, "I'm perfectly fine."

"You were very quiet today. I was…I was a little concerned, Ruki." Ruki glanced over her shoulder in surprise at this statement. Renamon stood under the shadows of the eves jutting out from the front of a closed store, her tail swishing behind her, only a foot away. Her snout lowered, though the fierce blue eyes were still fixed on Ruki.

"You don't need to be," Ruki said. "Sometimes I don't like talking, okay?"

Renamon padded a step closer. "Are you sure? I'm always here if you need someone."

Ruki closed her eyes for a moment. She started as she felt the gentle weight of her partner's paw resting on her shoulder, but didn't command Renamon to move away. It was a little comforting, that touch. Come to think of it, Renamon rarely, if ever, made any attempts to make unnecessary physical contact with her human partner. It had only been when Ruki was in danger would her fur even brush against the Tamer's skin. She always acted very cautiously, and only if Ruki gave her consent. Things had definitely started changing between them.

Renamon's voice sounded behind her. "Hm. The drizzle seems to be dying down."

Ruki opened her eyes, looking up. Her partner was right. It was hard to tell from where she sat (the lights were making it difficult to see the sky clearly), but it looked like the clouds were starting to scuttle away, the dim points of starts peeking out, winking mischievously down at the people below. She probably needed to get home before her grandmother started worrying -

"Ruki!"

A sharp pain in her shoulder jarred her from her thoughts. Renamon had accidentally dug her claws into her Tamer. Ruki was about to demand an explanation, glancing over angrily. But Renamon wasn't even looking at her, instead staring at something with a shocked expression on her fox's face, eyes wide.

"_Ow!_ What was that for?" Ruki blurted.

Renamon muttered a distracted apology, letting go of Ruki. She was still staring however, her eyesnarrowed suspiciously. "This can't be right."

"What_'s_ not right?"

"Look to your right. No, not that far right. The other side of the street – standing between the lamppost and the newsstand. Do you see him?" Renamon pointed with a claw. Ruki's gaze followed her partner's gesture.

A young boy her age stared straight at her with unblinking sky-blue eyes. Ruki froze, instantly recognizing the familiar face, that messy head of hair, the hooded shirt and long gray shorts. The stupid yellow goggles perched above his forehead…

Takato!

Ruki leapt out of her seat. _What's _Takato_ doing here?!_ Strangely enough, she had to wonder how he got his goggles back. Did he find Jenrya? Jenrya would've called her if Takato returned. The other Tamer had a strange expression on his face and, after a moment of deliberation, flung a challenging smile at her. He turned, scrambling easily over the short wall and was gone.

"We've gotta follow him!" Ruki raced after him, immediately putting thought into action and weaving her way through the crowds.

"Ruki, wait!"

Renamon's protest fell on deaf ears, as her human partner darted across the street, vaulting over the wall after the boy. Ruki landed, almost fell as she landed on uneven ground, slippery with a carpet of wet leaves. She managed to regain her balance, and slid down the slope, hoping to high heaven there weren't any rocks underneath all that debris and that if there was, that she wouldn't break her neck following Takato. A strange mixture of anger and relief flooded through her. The moment she caught up with the kid, she'd definitely give him her say and demand he answer her questions.

Ruki reached level ground. It was the park, one she had been to a few times when she watched Takato and Jenrya attempt to disguise Growlmon with water-based paints. It was a pretty big field, and the furthest end of it was rarely visited. There was a flash of blue in the dimly lit darkness, which disappeared again, obscured by the thick tree trunks. Ruki chased after him. _What's he doing, playing games or something?!_

"Ruki, be careful!" Renamon quickly caught up to her partner, bounding with easy leaps from tree to tree.

Ruki pounded through the wet grass, slipping and sliding. Takato was moving at a good pace. Ruki knew she was in pretty good shape (Renamon, if anything, was in even better shape) but she kept having the impression Takato was actually starting to pull away from them. Takato kept to the dense tree-filled area of the park, the patches of blue weaving in and out of the tree trunks.

Renamon sailed through the air, now a few feet ahead of Ruki. Her bushy tail lashed for balance as she landed on a branch, the branch bending dangerously under her weight. Renamon leaped into the air again, shouting down.

"He's running toward the playground, Ruki!" Renamon made contact with the ground in front of her, a yellow and purple blur as she rebounded from her crouch after Takato.

Ruki ran out into the misty clearing and stumbled to a stop, Renamon landing smoothly next to her.

"Takato!"

The boy turned at her shout. He'd stopped a few feet ahead, one foot tapping impatiently at the ground.

"You'd better have a good explanation!"

Takato only shrugged, the light from the stores in the distance reflecting off his brilliant blue eyes. The boy smiled at her and turned his back on her, looking expectantly up at the sky. _What the heck's he _doing_?_

Renamon took a step forward, her hackles suddenly rising as the fog started to grow thicker. Ruki's D-Arc began to beep furiously. Renamon assumed a battle stance. "A digital field's forming, Ruki!"

"Get ready, Renamon!" Ruki ordered, pulling her D-Arc from where she hooked it on the waist of her uniform's gray skirt. "Takato, get over here! Unless you brought Guilmon with you, you're gonna have to sit back! I hate it when people get in my way, you know that!"

Takato ignored her warning. He didn't seem to be the least bit worried of the danger. _Well, fine, if he's gonna act weird on me, than that's his problem! _Ruki tensed herself for the upcoming battle. _First thing's first!_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir, a field is forming at point GP-0A."

_Again?_

"It's bio-emerging! Should I send a tracer out?"

"Forget it, Reika. You didn't notice it in time. Go contact the collection team and have them it clean up."

"Yes, sir."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki pulled off her glasses as the digital field's fog swamped the park. The air stung a little bit, dropping several degrees. Beside her, Renamon kept her defensive stance, her black claws extended further from her white glanced over at Takato and started – the boy had abruptly turned around and was now staring at her with a strange look expression on his face. Ruki looked away, unnerved, and frowned. _Trust Takato to be weird at a time like this! He's _so_ immature!_

The D-Arc gave a beep to get her attention,as the holographic display appeared, along with the wild Digimon's data. Ruki's eyebrows drew together as she read the text out loud. "Greymon, Champion level! Watch out for his Nova Blast and Great Horns attacks, Renamon!"

Renamon nodded as the large form of Greymon appeared from the swirling haze, "I will."

There was a thundering roar from the direction of the wild Digimon's shadow, "_Nova Blast_!"

Renamon bounded straight up into the air, drawing her legs close to her body as the fireball ripped through the air under her. The attack smashed into a tree behind her and instantly demolished it, the trunk exploding into flaming splinters. Renamon landed easily, staring straight ahead as Greymon emerged from the fog.

The Champion Digimon was big, Ruki had to credit him with that. Greymon had to be at least triple the size of Renamon, from the tip of his orange and blue striped tail to the top of his wedge-shaped head. A blunt horn swept up from the carapace covering his head, two other horns placed just beyond the small eyes, claws decorating the stubby arms. The Tamer eyed the Digimon with an expert eye: he might have short arms, but she didn't like the look of those powerful muscles rippling across his body. _Strength, high stamina, probably has a really tough hide to boot_. She'd definitely have to use some cards to win the battle. Much as she had faith in Renamon's abilities, there was little chance she'd be able to defeat Greymon without aid from the cards or digivolving into Kyuubimon.

Renamon sized up her opponent as well. A confident smirk graced her snout, "I can't say I'm very impressed. You're pretty slow for a walking purse."

Greymon's green eyes narrowed. He snarled, "Walking _purse_!" Flames licked at his snout and his large head reared back. "_Nova Blast_!"

Renamon bounded away. The burst of fire buried itself harmlessly into the ground. "Ah ah, you'll have to do better than that."

The wild Digimon stepped forward, stubby claws clenching and unclenching. "You filthy little _rat_!" Greymon lowered his head, his thick tail stiff behind him. He charged, his hind legs digging into the grass and tearing up large clumps of dirt.

Ruki fished about for her deck of cards, as the battle continued. Renamon flipped over her opponent, using the top of his head to give herself momentum. She hovered in the air as Greymon stumbled to a grinding halt, the large head swiveling around, as if on ball bearings, to face her. She threw out her arms, taking the offensive as the air before her began to shimmer.

"_Diamond Storm_!" Renamon shouted. The air suddenly solidified into thousands of shining crystal shards. The spinning pieces dove down toward Greymon with a screaming wail, hundreds at a time pounding down onto his hide. With a boom, the Champion Digimon vanished as a cloud of smoke burst around him, drowning out his surprised roar.

Renamon landed in front of her opponent, her tail whipping behind her. The dust swirled thick around Greymon. She wasn't sure if she had done any damage or not. Renamon stood up, watching as the thick cloud roiled toward her. She was certain she hit him and she had fought other Champion levels before, with moderate success. Surely she didn't need to digivolve for this.

"Renamon! Time for a card slash!" Ruki called out behind her. The Tamer held out her D-Arc and card, "_Digi-Modify!_ Blitz Power Blast, _activate!_"

Renamon was surrounded by a throbbing red light. Ruki normally didn't use the Blitz card that often: it basically boosted a Digimon's speed and power for a short time for a final, decisive strike, but it dropped defense and agility in order to do so. It was intended to surprise the opponent with a burst of berserker strength and catch him or her off-guard. She rarely needed to use it in the past, because Renamon had been strong enough to handle her opponents without needing to launch a surprise attack.

Ruki glanced over at Takato, who was still staring at her with that creepy expression. At least he moved a little closer, out of the way. The boy was now standing only a few feet away from her. _Let's get this over quickly! I don't want him running away on me again._

"Renamon, you know what to do!"

"I'm on it!" Renamon gritted, snout drawn back in a snarl and revealing sharp fangs. With a burst of energy that scorched the damp grass under her, she leapt off the ground and flew toward the dissipating cloud, claws extended as she soared through the air, the light of the Blitz Power Blast spiraling around her body in streamers. She sped closer to the smoke. The dust was still too thick for her to see her opponent, but she was approaching it at a high speed.

Too fast to slow down.

A dark shape erupted out of the cloud, the smoke clinging to the brown-capped snout and open jaws outstretched toward her. Renamon tried to angle herself so she could bounce off the huge horn, but failed, unable to twist herself away in time. Greymon emerged from the smoke head first, his waist-down still obscured, and, with a triumphant roar, viciously clamped down on the closest limb in reach. He plucked the other Digimon out of the air with ease. Renamon couldn't suppress the shriek of surprised pain that was ripped from her as the glow of the Blitz card faded away from her. She was slammed into the ground with a dull thump, Greymon's large jaws still clamped down around her right hind leg.

Ruki picked another card. She he drowned out Renamon's pain in order to concentrate. "_Digi-Modify!_ Power Plug-in, _activate!_"

Renamon pulled back her free leg and delivered a stout kick that hammered her claws into Greymon's snout. He shook his head from side to side, trying to dislocate the trapped limp, but spat her out after another powerful blow landed itself on his sore nose. Renamon got to her feet, though she was now balancing her weight on her uninjured foot.

"That was a nice little trick, surprising me like that," she commented.

This earned a coughing laugh from Greymon. The Diamond Storm had only tickled him. "You're not worth my time, slave! Your cheap parlor tricks are a joke, nothing more!"

Renamon stepped back, and exchanged glances with her Tamer, who nodded, drawing out another card. She gave a small half-smile. "You enjoy magic tricks? How about _this_ one?"

Ruki slashed the card, "_Digi-Modify!_ Digivolution,_activate!_"

Chaos erupted.

"Renamon digivolve to..."

Renamon began to transform into her Champion shape, her body partially obscured by a blue glow. She dropped down to all fours as the Renamon-form began to peel away like melting paint, facing Greymon. He rumbled and growled, trying to duck his head away from the almost blinding light.

Ruki began to turn around to make sure Takato was still standing next to her. She barely had enough time to gasp as she suddenly came face-to-face with the other Tamer, violet ones lost in the depth of ice blue ones. Her D-Arc was knocked out of her hand by a quick swat, flying in the air several paces behind her and landing with a splatter of mud. A pair of powerful hands wrapped themselves around her neck. The combined weight of both children sent her tumbling toward the ground on her back.

The black sky tilted sickeningly as she fell.

_Takato!_

"What ar…are you…_doing_?!" Ruki gagged as she struggled with the boy straddling her. She tried to push Takato off her with a kick, her hands trying frantically to pry the iron vise away from her throat. Takato easily fended her hands away with stinging blows, now keeping her pinned to the wet spikes of grass with one arm as he reached over her shoulder. Ruki made a strangled protest, feeling her attacker's throttling grip around her neck tighten in response. She started to feel dizzy, the world spinning and going darker.

Something was ripped from her back, the backpack straps slapping for a moment against her ear. Ruki weakened Tamer fought to pull off the arm keeping her pressed between the ground. Takato's blue were focused on the backpack, no longer on her face. There was a tearing sound as something destroyed her backpack. Ruki caught a glimpse of something red and white in Takato's hand and suddenly the choking vise around her throat was gone, as well as the weight sitting on her.

She tried to push herself up, coughing. Takato bent down next to her and smiled. The expression looked false, as if he wasn't used to using his face muscles.

"I must thank you for making my search easier," he whispered. "Little fool, you're lucky I didn't kill you." He stood up, turned and vanished from her field of vision. Ruki lay where she was, trying to regain her breath, mind blank at the moment. The battle was still going on, from the sounds of the two fighting Digimon Kyuubimon had engaged her enemy into an all-out melee.

"_Fox Tail Inferno_!"

"_Great Horns_!"

There was a loud explosion, and wet clods of dirt and smoldering splinters rained down on Ruki. She feebly curled into a ball, covering her head with her arms as the clumps harmlessly bounced off her body. Her neck was killing her, and she couldn't shout out to Kyuubimon as she started to roll over onto her stomach. All that came out was a dry rasp. She started to think coherently: that wasn't Takato! Takato didn't hurt people. Something was wrong with him - she didn't know what - but she wasn't going to let him get away with attacking her. She'd sic Kyuubimon on him if she had to. Ruki managed to get to her knees, still light-headed, and glanced around for Takato. There was no sign of him, though from the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a horse in the distance. Was she so dizzy she was seeing things?

Ruki winced as her throat throbbed.

"_Dragon Wheel_!" A blue ribbon of fire rocketed toward the larger form of Greymon, a howl tearing itself from the Dragon Wheel's serpentine head. Greymon's jaws were nearly closed, the fire tracing trails around his exposed fangs. He looked the worse for wear, his striped orange hide bruised and cut open in places, leaking data. Greymon was about to fire off another Nova Blast when Kyuubimon hit him like a whirlwind.

The fireball flew straight up into the night sky as Greymon stood stock still, eyes wide in shock. Kyuubimon crouched down as her opponent began to dissolve. She closed her eyes as she began to upload the defeated Greymon's data, the sparks being absorbed into her furred chest. With a triumphant grunt, she turned toward her Tamer as the digital field around them disappeared.

"Ruki! What happened?" Kyuubimon was quickly at her partner's side, her elegant snout bowed down in worry.

Ruki reached out and, using Kyuubimon's thick fur, pulled herself into a sitting position. It hurt to talk, but at least words were coming out now. "Takato did."

"_What_?" Kyuubimon growled, "Care to explain?"

"I'd love to…but my throat really hurts…"

"There's bruise marks all over your neck!"

"I _know_…look…find Takato and bring him back."

Kyuubimon's long snout started to quiver as she snarled.; "_He_ did this to you, didn't he?"

Ruki shrugged, massaging her aching throat with one hand. "Just go get him. But you'd better not hurt him or anything."

Kyuubimon looked dangerously close to coming to an explosion, which was extremely rare, as she was normally collected. "I won't make any promises, but I'll try. Stay here." With a bound, the Champion Digimon moved away into the darkness, the tips of her tails bobbing as she disappeared into the trees.

Ruki couldn't think of anything which would provoke that attack, nothing unless Takato snapped and went cuckoo or something.

She suddenly remembered the feeling of her backpack being ripped straight off her shoulders. With a sudden burst of energy, she crawled over to where the remains of it lay a meter away. The flap of it was ripped clean off, the bottom reduced to large scraps of cloth. Her notebooks and papers were scattered around it, dirty water seeping into her stuff. She felt a twinge of petty anger. Now she'd have to do all her homework _again_ when she got home. Ruki attempted to collect the spilled folders, placing them on the ruin of her backpack. She had stacked them all on top of each other when she noticed something that made her drop the damp notebook she had in her hand.

Everything was accounted for except for one thing:

Takato's D-Arc was missing.

**To be continued...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	5. Day 4: Lack of a Power Trip

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: I don't own or claim to own Digimon. This fanfiction is for fun.  
**Author's Note**: Once again, going into edit. I'm also removing my Author's Notes from before because they're embarassingly filled with 2001 fangirlism. Thank you for reading.

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**(Day Four – Lack of a Power Trip)**

Calumon toddled along the rooftop.

_ Who to play with? _Calumon glanced about for a possible playmate. _Who's gonna play with me today? _So far no one, but it was fun wandering around. Though he had to admit that he sorta wished he'd have someone to wander around _with_. The thing was to bring a friend along with you so you could have fun together!

He, however, would prove to be successful in finding someone. Even though that _someone_ didn't particularly want to play at the moment.

Impmon perched on a box, squeezed between a pair of large 'd tried to catch some shut-eye. It wasn't easy getting to sleep – after all, it bothered him that he'd seen Renamon jumping around the skyscrapers yesterday, with that purposeful twitch in her tail that told him she was on a mission. _Lookin__' for me, I bet. _Impmon closed his eyes. He started think trying to sell off information so he could stuff his mouth wasn't quite the smart idea he thought it was. It wasn't worth it for Fox Face to manhandle him.

After last time he wasn't exactly looking forward to a repeat. _Those dumb Digi-slaves working their tails off for those humans.__ Fox Face wouldn't be so nasty if she didn't follow that precious brat of hers!_ Impmon himself had bad experiences with humans – especially kids – and couldn't figure out for the life of him what they got in return for scraping and bowing to their "Tamers". It was like the world's worst joke and no one was laughing.

It wasn't like he was , definitely not jealous. Why would he want to be a slave to some human? Being told what to do, what to say, how to act and how to play. Nope, he definitely didn't want to deal with them again.

"Oooh, are you talking to yourself? Can I join in? It looks fun!"

Impmon nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice.

"Over here, silly!"

Impmon looked up, and made a face of disgust. He knew this Digimon from seeing him several times. It was the whiny one who sometimes traveled with those so-called Tamers. He scowled, "What d'_you_ want?"

Balancing on a thin pipe running between the two radiators, Calumon grinned happily, his ears expanding to their full size. "I wanna play, of course!" He seemed to have completely forgotten Impmon's past attempt to absorb his data.

"Go away!"

But the small In-Training wasn't listening, still babbling on; "So, can I join in your game? It looked sorta fun – you were nodding and shaking your head like _this_," here he demonstrated, shaking his head furiously. "And looking all serious. Must be fun if you're concentrating so hard!"

Impmon didn't feel like trying to figure out the other's logic, "Y'deaf or something? I said t'go away!"

"But - "

Impmon held up a gloved paw, a small fireball igniting in his palm, " - I don't feel like playin'! What part of _no_ don't ya understand?"

The oversized ears on Calumon's head shrunk down. He made a sad face, "Aww…why not? You're not doing anything…and neither am I…and it's more fun if we play together instead of being all serious and stuff alone."

Impmon thought about this – for about three seconds.

"Get lost!"

"Can I at least hang out around here for a while?" Calumon said, "I won't make you play with me if you don't wanna."

Impmon leaned back into his makeshift seat, the fireball vanishing with a small puff of smoke. He didn't feel like moping some more (which was exactly what he had been doing up till now) and it would be different from the usual routine, having someone else nearby. Besides, he wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, but the company would be nice, and he wouldn't be feeling so sorry for himself.

"Fine," came the gruff reply.

Calumon cheered loudly into Impmon's ear and let go of the piping, landing on a ledge near the other Digimon's knee. The In-Training bounced from paw to paw.

"Ooh, you're being serious again!" Calumon giggled, "You look so funny when you make those faces!"

"I ain't makin' faces!"

"Are too!" Calumon responded, and abruptly made an exaggerated frown, trying to make his huge eyes as small as he could in a beady squint, "Like this. So serious!"

"I_ ain't_ serious!" Impmon replied indignantly. He laughed to prove it.

"That doesn't count! That was fake."

"How _do_ you laugh, if you're such an expert?" The Rookie demanded hotly.

Calumon beamed. "Silly, you can't _force_ a laugh! It's natural – it just comes out when you're really happy. Like, when you're playing a game with a bunch of friends and you're winning and everyone's cheering," he held up his stubby paws in a makeshift funnel, imitating a shouting bystander, " '_Go__ Calumon_! You can do it!' and you're having fun being with your friends and waving to everyone and you laugh 'cause it's really fun…" he trailed off as he caught his breath.

Impmon scratched the back of his head in puzzlement, "So you laugh when you win?"

Calumon giggled again, "Yup! It's a lot of fun, winning! But I always laugh when I'm doing something fun."

_Is that my problem, then? I haven't won _anything_, not even one of those pathetic human games…_The In-Training seemed to be around humans a lot, though he didn't trip after any "Tamer's" heels. Was he like Impmon, then? Nah._ I'm the only one with th' brains to see that there's nothin' to be gained from hanging onto to a human. _Impmon couldn't remember all the details of his encounter with a human, but he what he did remember was confusion and pain – that, and whenever he tried to attach a name to the face (he kept getting plagued by a flash of blond hair, of braids), he only got a headache. Still, Calumon might have some interesting points. Winning might be everything.

"So, yer Calumon, right?" Impmon asked, too curious to feel annoyed anymore.

"Yup! Calumon, Culumon, Kurumon," he hopped in place, emphasizing his words, "It doesn't matter! I'm _me-e_!"

Impmon rubbed at one ear, wincing, "Yeah, I figured. So, y'hang around humans a lot or somethin'?"

"They're a lot of fun sometimes! The humans with the other Digimon are fun too. Especially _Guilmon_! You ever met Guilmon?"

Impmon tried to remember. "Might've."

"He's a _lot_ of fun – you should play with us sometime: you wouldn't be so scowly then."

"I ain't scowly."

Calumon hopped down from his little ledge, "Then play with us sometime! Otherwise you're scowly! Scowly, scowly, scowly!"

The virus-type was about to give his answer when an excited squeal cut him off.

"_He-e-ey_! Look, um…" Calumon was tottering toward the fence edge, pointing as he tried to come up with the other Digimon's name.

"Impmon."

"Impmon! Look, something else to play with!" Calumon gestured frantically at something. Impmon was tempted to ignore him, but after a moment he jumped down from the box, strolling casually after Calumon so it wouldn't look like he was interested. He was soon standing behind the shorter Digimon, trying to figure out what got the little squirt so excited.

"I don't see anything."

Calumon pointed again, "Over there - that misty thingie over that tall house. Maybe we should say hi?"

Impmon shaded his eyes with one paw, blocking out the red glare of the lights. At first he didn't see anything interesting, just what looked like a harmless cloud floating above one of the city's many skyscrapers. It didn't strike him as weird. What _did_ was the fact the small patch of cloud was starting to spin into a flat spiral. He might not be an expert on the human's Real World, but he knew clouds didn't start making bizarre shapes like that.

The two small Digimon watched as the mist began to whirl around at a faster pace, slowly turning until it was perpendicular to the skyscraper's level roof.

Impmon stiffened as he felt something approaching. Next to him, Calumon shrank down as if he wanted to back away from the rapidly spinning cloud. _Is this a digital field?_ He could definitely feel a Digimon close by. It felt somehow like it could eat Calumon and him for breakfast.

Something slowly started to emerge from the mist, which was beginning to resemble a foggy gate instead of a cloud. It was still too far away and too dark to see clearly, and he couldn't tell who was the Digimon starting to pull itself from the gateway.

_Don't tell me it's another one of those Digi-slaves goin' to his "Tamer"_…

Calumon shivered, ears shrinking down. "Oh, let's go! I don't like this anymore."

"In a sec," Impmon replied, still watching. The Digimon pulled itself completely from the mist. It looked from this distance almost like a Unimon, but the resemblance didn't go that far. Not unless Unimon suddenly sprouted dark fur, lost a few (try fifty) pounds, and grew what looked like wings from its head. And got a _serious_ case of the uglies. Half of its face was gnarled fangs. From what he could see, Impmon knew this Digimon wouldn't be entering any beauty contests soon. The strange Digimon glanced around like he was scoping the joint out.

Impmon couldn't help starting as the distant Digimon's head suddenly swiveled around to look right at him. Or was it? It was dark, there was no way he (well, it _could_ be a she) would have seen the two. The Digimon's dark shadow turned away and Impmon let out the breath he was unconsciously holding as the Digimon bounded away from the lit tower, disappearing from view.

Calumon shook himself, turning around to face the slightly taller virus-type.

"I don't _like_ him. He doesn't feel like he was any fun, " he complained.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaminmon sailed between the skyscrapers, the finely feathered wings on his head outstretched. It was a long journey. Traveling constantly between realities through his Digital Mist was tiring. The Champion landed on a sloping roof with a clatter of his cloven hooves and began to canter quickly up the tiled slope so he could get a running start for another long leap, his wings flapping for leverage.

His tongue lolled out around the red D-Arc he held clamped between his fangs.

_ I could have just stayed in that form – it did have those paws and it would have made it easier to carry this cursed thing._ Kaminmon realized, pushing himself away from the rooftop, sailing up toward a taller building. Too bad that body would've been shattered at the first jump. Still, he had to admit, it had been mildly enjoyable, walking around in that form – laughing at the weaklings walking obliviously around him – and his encounter with the girl was even more entertaining. She must be Ruki Makino, another Tamer.

_Maybe I should ask Mistress if I could have permission to kill next time._ At this thought, Kaminmon's long tongue brushed against the slick plastic surface of the strangely shaped Digivice. _She won't be so cruel as to deny me my entertainment._

Kaminmon thoroughly enjoyed attacking the young girl. He loved taking her frail body down to the ground, the feeling of her struggling to stop him from choking her. The Champion didn't have an extensive knowledge of human physiology, but he assumed they were vulnerable in the same places he probably would be. Kaminmon let out an almost content sigh around the Digivice clasped in his mouth. _They're so amusing to torture._

With a snap, his wings unfurled, the feathers ruffling as he took another graceful dive off the building, moving through the early darkness of the morning easily. A jolt as he landed on the roof and immediately rebounded off, his mane of thicker fur whipping behind him in the wind. Kaminmon once against took to the air. He was still thinking back to his encounter with Ruki Makino as he neared his destination. That experience was very enjoyable. _One I'd like to repeat. Perhaps with a different one? Humans are so random that it would probably be a different reaction…_

Now wouldn't _that_ be something to look forward to? Almost like a little lottery.

_ I've never had a chance to inflict harm on a human befor_e. Golems and other Digimon didn't count, but it had been necessary so he could digivolve. As for the Golems…it didn't matter _what_ happened to those things. They were only useful for following orders. It was a new thought, hurting another creature for no other reason than seeing it in pain. _Must be something in my code._ He knew he was an unnatural virus-type – he was proud of it too. Chaos was something he'd had something of an affinity to.

It might be his primary function, but he reminded himself he had enough self-restraint to see that he carry out his Mistress's plan before he went off to do his own thing. The Mistress had been the only one who took pity on him when he was at his weakest. He vowed he'd repay the debt.

Kaminmon landed with a dull clacking of hooves meeting tile. This was as far as he could go before he'd be completely lost. Kaminmon could vaguely feel the presence of his Mistress, but she could be anywhere within the five kilometer area. With a grunt, Kaminmon settled down onto his knees and hind legs folding under him, his winged ears closing with a snap.

He closed his bright blue eyes, concentrating. With a nauseating sensation, his awareness began to expand as he extended his aura. Images of random humans, of animals, of memories, began to assault him. The Champion didn't give himself time to be overwhelmed by the vast amounts of information assaulting him – he blocked out everything, summoning up how his Mistress looked here, how she smelled, her distinctive presence. That sense of casual power.

_My lady, _he called, the words echoing in his ears. _Mistress, I succeeded._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Takato once again floated in the black space. The young boy didn't know how long he'd been sitting around here, bored out of his mind, although he had a feeling it had to be at least several hours. At first he was fascinated with watching the shimmering digital lines, had stared as they changed from being relatively straight to forming complex shapes that resembled mountains and moving water. It quickly got boring. Still, he supposed it was better than having some supposedly "harmful" defect getting pointed out – especially when he had this niggling feeling the Juggernaut might be right.

The last "check" was relatively short. It had been quick, although he made a point of doing everything he could to show he wasn't listening to the Juggernaut's logic._ Really didn't matter, I guess._ Because here he was, back again in what he was beginning to realize was the waiting room. There wasn't much to do, except wonder what was going to happen to him and that his friends were probably worried about him. He couldn't see any possible way out of this weird dream state – the Juggernaut would read his mind or something anyway and he'd probably end up hurting himself in the process.

** Catching on quickly, I see. Excellent. You can adapt to situations when the need arises. **

Takato only grunted in reply. The Juggernaut hadn't made any attempt to initiate any conversation ever since he was left here. Takato stopped after awhile, seeing he wasn't making any progress in getting any useful information from the computer. So if the Juggernaut was suddenly starting to pay attention to him, then that meant…

**That I am almost done dealing with the data from you?**** Correct.**

** Five hours have nearly elapsed.** A thin string of static, which disappeared quickly, interrupted the black space around Takato.** A word of advice, companion system. **Takato said nothing, listening to the slightly altered tone of the Juggernaut. **There's no point in fighting against programming - both yours and mine will intersect so that our goals are one. It has been set. Struggling will accomplish nothing.**

_I don't see why you'd have such a problem with it, because I'm not going to sit back in here forever._

** You do not have a choice.**

_There's always a choice._

Another string of crackling static. **There is never a choice, especially here. We have already begun the primary stages of integration, and – unless your programming can override mine, which is unlikely - "choice" will not be subject to argument.**

Takato winced, as the static grew louder, clapping his hands over his ears.

The Juggernaut apparently noticed it too. **This is only mild interference, Takato Matsuda. It will be over. You must learn to ignore minor discomfort if you are to be able to carry out our projected goal efficiently.** A pause, and the white noise gone. **There. Now we will continue with the background check.**

_Oh, goody._ Some more quality time with the Juggernaut. Just what the doctor ordered.

The Juggernaut didn't notice the sarcasm or it was ignoring him, something it seemed to do a lot. The black space glimmered, the digital lines running through it vanishing like smoke.

_Now where're we? _Takato hesitated. He was now sitting on a railing lining the sidewalk. Again, the area looked to be deserted; as he looked around, he couldn't see a living soul, although he could definitely see that people had been here not too long ago. Cars were still parked along the street, doors to shops swinging open, and further down the street, the Tamer could see an electronics store was brandishing a large selection of TVs and computers, though all the screens were blank. A dog barked in the distance.

_Where is everyone?_ Takato began to find the abandoned street creepy. _People don't just vanish for no reason at all…_

An advertising sign from a nearby store fell over with a thump, causing the boy to jump at the sound. The howls of the lone mutt were dying down as the animal paused for another breath.

**This is ****West Shinjiku****. You should recognize it, considering that you were here only seven days ago. **A small bird fluttered down, landing a small food stall's windowsill only a few feet away. The sparrow regarded him with its bead-like eyes.

Takato shifted into a comfortable position from his perch on the railing. So it was a _bird_ this time? Last check, the Juggernaut's avatar had been, of all things, a dandelion. For some reason, a talking flower struck him as hilarious and he had spent a couple minutes laughing uncontrollably while the computer waited for him to finish. After that, he sobered quickly.

It hadn't been that funny.

Takato remembered now he had been on this very road not too long ago, he had been hanging out with Jenrya. But where was his best friend? He didn't see Jenrya anywhere, and he clearly remembered there had been people along the sidewalks. _Last time I went, it was crowded_, he argued, not for the sake of winning, but in hopes he'd distract the Juggernaut.

**I have the ability to modify the way you perceive your memories here. I took the liberty of removing the people so there would be a minimal amount of distraction.** The sparrow cocked one black eye on the boy. **This is all I can do, until I'm further integrated into your system and possess more influence. I am not able to permanently modify your memories as of yet.**

Takato's eyes widened, "You're going to change my memories?!" He squeaked.

** Only what is unnecessary for my programmed purposes. You'll find it is not that much, only ten percent of what you remember. Besides, you humans modify your own memories all the time: forcing yourselves to forget things you do not want to remember, embellishing minor things until they become legends in their own right. Your race is the only one capable of lying to themselves and truly believing that lie.**

** What a deceitful species.  
**

Takato eyed the Juggernaut-sparrow: he didn't like hurting animals or anything, but right now he was seriously considering the prospects of dropkicking the avatar into the next city. Maybe the next time zone if he could. No doubt the thing would appear right next to him, but he'd feel a little better showing some resistance instead of sitting here like a block of wood. Takato had a feeling any show of force would be pretty much useless. The sparrow hopped closer, almost challenging.

** But I am deviating from the matters at hand.** Was Takato imagining it, or was the bird bearing an amused air? **It appears I am already starting to learn your human phrases. I find this…humorous, is it? Yes, I think that is the word.** The sparrow's head tilted, still staring at him. In the distance, the abandoned dog started barking again.

Takato didn't it as funny as the Juggernaut apparently did. He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced around, wishing this would be over.

**Eager now to proceed?** The bird hopped along its perch, its head turned to regard Takato. **Very well.** A few more bobbing hops, the Juggernaut's avatar rustling its wings. **Let me ask you a question first: what is it you desire most in this world, companion system? The one thing you would do anything for, even _kill_ for? What is it?**

Takato shook his head, not liking the Juggernaut's change in its approach, asking suspiciously, "What kind of question is this?"

**A relevant one.**** Answer it.**

He didn't see any reason why he should.

**Because this will lead to the examination.**** I do not ask this for my own sake, Takato Matsuda.**

"Then why ask at all?"

**_You _need to know.**

Takato fell silent. He didn't want anything. He certainly wouldn't kill anyone for something he might want. For a moment, his stomach heaved at the thought of killing someone and he thought he was going to violently sick.

**What is it you desire most in this world? **The Juggernaut repeated. **What is it you desire?**

"Nothing! I don't want _anything_!" Takato finally snapped at the sparrow, his discomfort growing.

**That is correct. And that is the problem as well. You had only one desire you would kill for, one wish that _should_ have been impossible to fulfill.** The Juggernaut commented. **You wanted a companion, a "friend" who could fight your battles for you. In the end, it was only a matter of power – because you were too weak to stand up to yourself, you managed to create someone do to it for you. Because you received your wish, you have no strong desires. No longer do you have anything to motivate you onward.**

**You once wanted power. You wanted a strength you, subconsciously, knew you lacked.**

"I don't know what you're talking about."

**You only refuse to acknowledge it. All humans crave something beyond their wish: it is a trait reserved for the living. This drives you forward in your short lives, trying to achieve the impossible. It gives meaning to your existence.  
**

**You do not desire power now. That in itself makes you defective as a human when your entire race thrives on strength.  
**

Takato scowled, pushing himself away from the railing he had been leaning against. Why was he standing here listening to this? He headed down the abandoned sidewalk, not caring where he went. As long as he put some distance between him and the computer.

**Running away? You prefer fleeing instead of facing an obstacle? Some call that the act of a coward.**

_Shut up!_

The Juggernaut continued, the bird remaining where it was. **Where will you escape to? There is nowhere to run. You do not even possess the power to run from me. Where is your strength, once you are separated from your Digimon? You are only capable of running in circles. A little mouse caught in my maze.**

Takato sped his pace up into longer strides, now running blindly down the sidewalk. He kept his head down, not looking where he was going. No matter how fast he ran or how far he drew away from the sparrow, the words followed him, echoing around in the air, the empty buildings, in the deserted streets. Takato pounded down the sidewalk, his steps reverberating across the walls, as if he was in a deep canyon. The stores blurred past him.

** Why do you run when you know there is no place to hide, companion system? I derive no pleasure from any pursuit, **said the Juggernaut. **I confront you with your imperfections because they can be fixed. Not because it pleases me. I am incapable of pleasure. **

Takato began to slow down, his breakneck pace eventually coming to a stop. Gasping for breath, the young boy bent over, hands on his knees. He'd covered a big distance – he knew he did – but it looked like he hadn't gone anywhere at all. His legs threatened to give out under him, his knees shaking.

**You hate it, don't you? That I know more about you than you do.  
**

Takato glanced up at the sky, which was an agonizingly cheerful shade of blue. Of course he did!

**I do not pinpoint your flaws simply to antagonize you. I do this because _you_ can aid in correcting them.** The Juggernaut paused, the sparrow winging its way toward the Tamer. **If it may comfort you, all humans are flawed, not just you. None match the projected ideal that has been programmed into me by my creator. "It is the most flawed ones that have a chance of redemption". **It quoted.** You should consider yourself lucky. You will succeed where others failed.**

Takato started as the bird landed on his shoulder. He winced, as if a scalding iron touched him.

**Consider this, Takato Matsuda. You will need learn to be strong very quickly. You must be ready to use any means necessary to fulfill our goal.** A hesitation, and the Juggernaut asked, with an unusually crafty tone. **You wish to protect those you care about, correct?**

_…Well…yeah…but…_

** If you are so stubborn that you cannot recognize the defects within you, you will be in no position to protect anyone.**

_…stop it._ The protest was half-hearted now.

**You only need to become strong and accepting of power.** The tiny bird's talons pricked his skin, easily piercing through the blue clothing of his shirt. **In order to do that, you must be accepting of me, for I am power.**

** As we speak, my influence grows. I am spread underneath more than half of this city and yet I still continue to expand. I could have access to any part of ****Tokyo****, yet I do not have the ability to do so. I am latent. Without something to drive me, I cannot run at full efficiency. I sleep in a similar way as you do. I am power without a guiding hand. Because I am an inorganic system, I do not possess the _will_ to force action.  
**

**You, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. You are only human. Mortal. You have little to no influence on others. You would be lucky to even live past the age of seventy, but a blink to a machine of my caliber. You can be terminated with no difficulty. If you suddenly vanished off the face of the planet, no one – but a select few – would even notice, much less care. But you have a special ability: you have your organic will, the guiding force I require to carry out my objective. You have the power to use my influence throughout the city, whereas I do not. You are the true eyes of the two companion systems.**

** We are two components that only need to be fit together to make the perfect whole. Do you not see this? You need to be ambitious, to be as ruthless as a machine. You need to be ready and willing to use my strength, whatever the obstacles. **The sparrow bobbed its head, the unblinking beady eyes staring at Takato. **I know you better than anyone on this Earth.  
**

A long pause.

**I _need_ you, and this need is what disturbs you, is it not?**

Takato shivered. He couldn't bring himself to put his trust in this strange being.

**But you are unable to completely ignore what I say either. There is something intriguing about it and this…interests you.**

Takato kept silent, although he knew he had thought of something that betrayed him.

**Perhaps there is hope. Your will is weak, but with proper attention, it can become the driving force I need.** It felt like the Juggernaut was (impossibly) regarding Takato with an amused expression. **Soon you will crave power once again and then you will be ready to access the systems at your disposal.**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_ This isn't working._ Jenrya realized, with a tired yawn.

He had been up all night yesterday and hadn't gotten much sleep. Running around trying to look for Takato again hadn't been very productive, and the only hint at progress was the yellow goggles sitting on his cluttered desk. _Not to mention we spent all that time trying to chase down that Digimon Terriermon said he felt. _Of course, by the time Terriermon pinpointed the digital field's location, and they managed to get to the park, there was no sign of any new Digimon. Only new ditches that gaped in the ground, a few trees shattered into toothpicks and a splotch of mud that had been trampled through. He didn't have a doubt what happened – obviously, Ruki had been in the area, and she confronted the wild one and won.

Which made Jenrya feel pretty stupid for rushing over for nothing.

Now Jenrya and his partner picked their way through the damp sidewalks. He wasn't surprised he hadn't come across Takato. As the days passed, his hopes dropped lower and lower.

And still life continued as normal, even though his friend was still missing.

"Really poured last night," said Terriermon from his usual perch on his partner's head. He chuckled. "Betcha Guilmon must've had a blast."

"Terriermon…"

The Rookie blinked at his tone, " Momentai, Jenrya. It was a joke. Y'know, _joke_?"

"More like sarcasm," Jenrya replied. He pillaged his refrigerator before he left and was now carrying a bag of groceries in one hand. Ruki hadn't volunteered to watch after Guilmon, now that Takato was indefinitely missing, so it looked like he would have to take on that responsibility. "I'm not really in the mood for jokes. Sorry."

Terriermon was silent for a moment before speaking up again, "What're we going to do? I'm sure Guilmon must've noticed something's wrong by now."

"I don't know. What we need to do is make sure he doesn't starve on us."

A laughing snort, "He's _always_ starving. I've never seen that glutton get full."

"He's not the only one I know who pigs out."

"Hey, I do _not_!"

Jenrya shook his head, "When you eat more than you weigh, I think I'd call it pigging out."

"I call it eating right."

"Same thing," Jenrya said. He continued down the sidewalk, trying to look like he didn't see the occasional glances thrown at him from the few people walking along the streets. He knew it was weird for him, a boy his age, to be walking around with what everyone assumed was a stuffed animal - even more so when he appeared to be talking to it. Jenrya steadily ignored the stares aimed his way as he passed a row of TV screens.

"Hey, hold on a minute," Terriermon said.

Jenrya stopped in his tracks, "What is it?"

"What's this?

Jenrya glanced about and came face-to-screen with a nearby TV. He took a step back before he blinded himself, "What, this?"

"Yeah. This show."

Jenrya focused on it. On the screen were six kids standing on the edge of a cliff. They seemed vaguely recognizable, and the show had to be a rerun, because it looked at least a few years old. He'd seen this before, he realized, and he recognized the small animals the kids were holding, the steel-lined goggles on one of the boy's heads, a tall girl with a pink cowboy hat. "Oh, that's _Digimon Adventure_. It ended two years ago, but it's still really popular."

"Didn't know they had a _show_ on us…" Terriermon mused.

"It finished its run before you arrived."

"Huh, so that explains it. But I thought you people didn't know about Digimon."

"It was based off a game someone started four years ago. Except for us, I think everyone still believes you guys are only cards or game characters," Jenrya replied. He turned away, continuing down the sidewalk. Terriermon still seemed interested in the show, so he added, "I have a bunch of tapes at home, if you want to watch it. It's about these kids who go to the Digital World."

Terriermon shook his head thoughtfully, "Nah, I think I'll pass. I was just thinking that it sounded awfully familiar to something I'd heard a long time ago, but…never mind."

Jenrya shrugged. He had to admit, he was curious about what was on his partner's mind, but he decided not to pry into the matter. He couldn't for the life of him imagine what had so piqued the Rookie's interest about the show. It only served to remind him he really _didn't_ know that much about Terriermon before he'd met him. _Guess he's going to tell me what he's thinking sometime._ It would be best if he didn't get too nosy about it.

_Wonder what I should do now?_ Looking for Takato was starting to feel increasingly stupid. He knew he wouldn't be finding his friend any time soon. Still, the idea he should just give up didn't sit well with him. Jenrya knew he'd been over this – more than once, in fact – but it didn't cease to bug him. He headed down a less crowded ally, passing through the shadows. He'd considered trying to call another meeting, but decided against it. He didn't feel he had the right to keep calling everyone like that, making them drop whatever they were doing just so he could _try_ to come up with a plan of action.

_I'm not made out for this leadership stuff. _

Jenrya cut through an intersecting alley, following it until he came out into the paved paths of the park. It had been a few days since he'd been here, and the pavement was a dark gray from the showers last night. Branches had been blown down from the fierce winds a few hours ago, forcing him to take it easy. The nearby trees creaked.

Before long, Jenrya and Terriermon n reached the top of the damp staircase. The area was a clutter of leaves and puddles. The concrete shed had easily withstood last night's storm, the tall barred gate still closed. Jenrya approached the small building, reaching out and undoing the lock as he peered inside.

"Takato?" came a sleepy voice.

Jenrya pulled the door open, "No, it's Jenrya, Guilmon."

Guilmon glanced up from his dirt nest at the back of the small room, eyes blinking in surprise at the unexpected visit. Jenrya stepped inside. No sign Takato might've dropped in to visit his partner, though Jenrya knew there was little chance of _that_ happening. Still, his imagination kept insisting he keep his hopes up.

Guilmon padded over, sniffing curiously at the bags Jenrya set on the ground, "What's this?"

"Breakfast," Jenrya said as he knelt down. Terriermon hopped off his shoulder as Guilmon began to sift through the various items of food in the bags. "Thought you might be getting bored of bread."

Guilmon settled back, eying the five egg rolls he held pinned between his claws, "I could never get bored of bread! Or peanut butter – I love peanut butter!" He began shoveling the food from the bags into his mouth, "…so, when's Takato coming over? He's gonna get _two_ tackles now!"

Terriermon shot a glance at Jenrya.

"Not today," he said haltingly, "…actually…he…ah…"

Terriermon joined in, seeing he was having some trouble, "He had to go away for a while."

"He did?" Guilmon's winged ears drooped. "How come he didn't tell me?"

"How would I know? Do I _look_ like Takato to you?"

"No, but…do you know when he's coming back?" Guilmon's wings drooped even lower as the two shook their heads. He hadn't seen his friend for three days now, and it hurt to think Takato took off somewhere (somewhere probably fun) without him. Why would Takato leave without him? _Maybe I did something he didn't like…but Takato always forgives me later. _Guilmon tried to recall any recent incidents that might've gotten Takato mad at him. _Don't think it's about me digivolving to Growlmon…what about that time I snuck out with Impmon? Nah…he got over that…maybe it's the time I accidentally sat on that lunch his mom made…_

That didn't seem right. It probably wasn't the time Guilmon'd sat on _him_ either…

It never occurred to him maybe his Tamer wasn't having the time of his life. For all Guilmon knew, Takato was sitting somewhere having a lot of fun, surrounded by peanut butter, bread, and candy. Guilmon sighed mournfully around a particularly large cracker he was munching on.

_Wish Takato took me with him…_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki Makino herself did nothing that day, save sleep and hope her swelling throat would feel better in the morning.

Her grandmother puttered about the house, sensing her granddaughter wasn't feeling well. She quietly did her best to elevate the younger girl's discomfort, deciding it was best not to ask. Renamon hovered about the lot's premises, her ice eyes warning bodily harm if she laid them on a boy.

Strangely enough, considering his antics from the night before, he was nowhere to be found.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid her lips curl into a faint smile as she felt the weight of the Digivice bounce in her uniform's pockets. It was mildly surprising how quickly her servant returned to her with his success. _One of the reasons he serves _me_, not someone else, like Nagamora. _Not that she had a problem with the man – though she knew _man_ wasn't quite the right term. Nagamora was like her. Better than human. He was the first: _he_ had been situated in Tokyo for over seven years.

She was amazed he hadn't gone insane from dealing with the humans.

Kincaid supposed Nagamora was more patient than she was. He didn't seem to mind being surrounded by them as much as she or Kaminmon did – probably a "duty" or "honor" thing. Her cohort was big on "honor", which was most likely why he volunteered for operation in the first place. He was in charge of opening the way for the others, and he took his job as the Founder very seriously. She, on the other hand, intended to get as much entertainment as she could. She had been elected to be the Deceiver months after Nagamora began the infiltration.

_So who's next? Founder, Deceiver.._. _The Shield comes next. The Founder, the Deceiver, the Shield, the Sword, the Enslaver and the Ruler. _She had her own suspicions as to who might be chosen as the Shield and the Sword.

_Greymon__ will probably be the Sword_, Kincaid reflected as she headed down into the depths of the building.

She remembered meeting the Digimon years ago, only a few months after "the incident". Greymon's loss she couldn't understand. All she knew was she had eight Digimon on her paws, eight who would probably attempt to delete themselves if they weren't watched. Nagamora had a little talk with them but it was still an uphill took months to get the eight back on track.

By the time Kincaid was sent to the Real World, all had once again reverted to their Champion forms, their memory of the Digital World disaster almost completely gone. The second time she'd seen the eight, they had been raring for action: Greymon and Garurumon stood out above the rest, shining examples of redemption. _If Greymon becomes the Sword, then he'll probably be rewarded for it. I wouldn't be surprised if he was given enough data to digivolve to War Greymon. _That would be a sight!

Now that the Founder and the Deceiver were in place, all that was needed was to open the rifts wide enough to allow the main forces through, led by the Shield and the Sword. Kincaid had to wonder who would be chosen for the Shield. Some Digimon able to cast large defensive spells, or able to knock out all the weaponry of the humans, obviously. Kincaid shook her head. She should really concentrate on her job.

_Such as what I'm going to do with this Digivice_. Actually, she already knew what she was going to do with it. It was more of a matter as to what she should program the Juggernaut to do once it finished its internal affairs. _If it's powerful enough, perhaps I could nominate it to be the Sword if there're no suitable Digimon candidates. We never specified if any of the Line had to be a Digimon…_

That was still a while to go. Her job wasn't finished. Hers began where Nagamora's ended, the two complimenting each other. Just as it had been back home, back when they could be themselves.

Kincaid took the emergency stairs. As she quickly descended, she toyed with the Digivice, turning it over in her palm. To tell the truth, she was surprised at the Digivice's (was it called a D-Arc now?) appearance: oblong, a silvery-white with red trimming. She'd only seen a real Digivice once before this and it hadn't looked anything like the one nestled in her pocket.

_The humans probably learned from their mistakes. Most likely some sort of modification_. That was the only way she could explain it. It wasn't surprising they improved it. Obviously, they didn't want a repeat of what happened the first time they had discovered the existence of other world.s

_Last time it was eight. And now it's three. There must be a reason for this._

Again, Kincaid pushed open the door, closing it carefully behind her to it wouldn't echo. She didn't want to risk the chances of someone hearing her. She quickly crossed the corridor to the welded steel doors, shifting as she moved. A moment of delay, and she easily slid through, now on the other side of the doors. There wasn't any pause to regain her bearings – she made straight for the hulk of the Juggernaut as she melded into her true form, her furred tail swishing behind her.

The lighting closest to the huge machine flickered in recognition as she approached.

"How's the new system, Juggernaut?" She asked with her usual cheeky (though now slightly higher) tone.

No answer, save a satisfied creak from the cabinets surrounding the larger metal dome. This earned a laugh from Kincaid: she definitely could sense the change within the computer. _My baby's growing up_.

"Good," a little surprising the Juggernaut was becoming more lifelike by the day, but she continued, "By the way, I have something for you."

An almost curious break in the general hum of machinery.

"Here." Kincaid crossed the threshold, stepping over the large cables scattered all over the floor. She weaved around the multi-colored cabinets, coming to a stop before the Juggernaut. She was completely dwarfed by its bulk (it didn't help she shrunk a few feet when she resumed her original form), but she refused to allow herself to be intimidated. _No, _I'm_ the one holding the reins here – I created it. _She leaned forward; knocked on the hull of the Juggernaut. "But you need to open up for me."

There was a deliberating pause. Kincaid started to frown, and her voice was suddenly low and commanding:

"_Now._"

There was no further delay as the Juggernaut obeyed its creator. Seams became clear in the plating and thick jets of white steam shot out from the opening cracks. Even though it was starting to resemble a living creature more and more, it still had to follow her orders. _Besides, it only hesitated because it was looking out for its own well-being._ She reasoned. _It's only following the caution protocol I programmed into it._

Kincaid stepped forward, ignoring the tendrils of mist still curling around her small round ears and gloved paws. No cables sought to sink themselves into her any longer. They now collected densely in one area, shifting and creaking as they snaked over each other over the bulging mass.

"Your personality matrix," she ordered.

Another hiss from the Juggernaut, but it didn't make any motions to rebel against the command. The coils and segmented cables began to unwrap, pulling aside as the center of the mass was pushed forward. They pulled away until the shining surface of the capsule was revealed. Dozens of wires, thick and thin, had attached themselves to the exposed arms and body – three had sunk into the boy's neck, pulsing, while a larger one was planted comfortably into his side. The smaller cables weaved, agitated, in the air. It didn't like being exposed like this.

Kincaid leaned in. Since she was down here, she might as well check up on the boy's physical condition. If there was something wrong with the procedure, she'd need to be able to address the problem quickly.

Reaching out with a darkly furred arm, she lifted the helmet off his head, pushing it backward and careful not to detach the wires curled from the back of the gear to his neck. A blank face stared, unseeing, over her shoulder, his eyes with a glazed look to them. She checked his pulse. A steady, strong beat. Satisfied by this, Kincaid waved her hand in front of his pale face. No reaction. She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes: _this_ earned a slight reaction, though it was delayed by several long seconds_._

Kincaid reached out and replaced the helmet, her fingers running briefly over the six jewel-like half-orbs. The fit was slightly snugger than she remembered as she lowered the metal back onto the boy's heads. She saw no reason to be surprised. The general sense of expectancy that hung in the air grew as she reached into her pocket and held out the red D-Arc toward the open machine.

"Take this," she said, fingers uncurling so the Digivice was nestled in her palm. "I'll be coming down in two days to upload your new orders."

There was a rustling creak as glittering wires stretched out toward her hand. They hovered momentarily about the D-Arc, weaving about only a few centimeters away as if fascinated. Sniffing it out. A click as one adventurous coil darted in and touched the surface. A moment's touch and than it was gone, but the change the D-Arc underwent at its contact was startling.

It grew light in Kincaid's hand. The red vanished when the wire touched the D-Arc and now the Digivice was devoid of any color, the blood red exchanged for a more neutral white. The coils stretched out and wrapped around the offering, lifting it and withdrawing back into the Juggernaut. Another jet of steam from the Juggernaut and it was once again silent, though there was now a more _sated_ feel to the air.

It was pleased with the D-Arc. Well, as pleased as artificial intelligence could feel, at any rate.

**To be continued...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	6. Conversations

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: I don't own or claim to own Digimon. This fanfiction is for fun.  
**Author's Note**: Once again, going into edit. I'm also removing my Author's Notes from before because they're embarassingly filled with 2001 fangirlism. Thank you for reading. Most of the original text will be the same, but I'll be tightening it up as I go.

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**(Conversations)**

_It's quiet tonight._

No sign of any Wild Ones, nothing out of the ordinary and no random outbreaks of chaos. No broken parts, no stalled computers, no whining technicians…nothing.

Peaceful, almost.

Probably why Yamaki was suddenly aware of the fact his ass was absolutely killing him. He leaned back in his chair, setting the his down on the terminal's dark console.

Kei left long ago, leaving Kincaid and Reika manning the high-rise chairs now. Yamaki stifled a yawn, stretching out his cramped legs. Sure, he was dedicated, but he wasn't an insomniac; he was going to need some sleep if he was to be ready for tomorrow's meeting. Yamaki removed his sunglasses, rubbing at his temple in exasperation. It was typical for Nagamora to want a conference at 5AM. _I swear that he does this on purpose. Trying to catch me with my pants down_. Another yawn. _Why doesn't this surprise me?_

Typical of the man, now that he thought of it.

He glanced up. Kincaid was bustling with almost inhuman energy, her fingers flying around the keyboard. Reika, on the other hand, was beginning to show signs of fatigue.

Yamaki pushed himself out of his chair. He wasn't having a good week and he definitely wasn't looking forward to tomorrow. With luck, he wouldn't bungle the meeting or mention anything he deemed classified. _I'll do worse if I don't get rid of my own stress_, he thought grimly, replacing his sunglasses. So he needed to relax in order to be prepared. With that decided, he called up to the two women in the high-rise chair.

"Reika!"

The tech looked down, pushing up the goggles away from her eyes as she leaned over the terminal, "Yes, sir?"

"Your shift's up," Yamaki said. To all others, these three words meant nothing, just a simple reminder, but Reika nodded. Reika began lowering her seat, unconsciously running her hands through her hair. Yamaki glanced from from Reika to Kincaid. "Kinoko Sekai will be coming down – when she does, I want you to run an errand for me. There're some files I want you to copy onto a flash drive– they're called Firewall-09GX. I expect the flash drive on my desk tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir!"

Yamaki turned to Reika. He had no trouble reading her body language. She would use him the same way he would use her, of course – as a stress reliever, nothing more. "Lovers" would be pushing it, wouldn't it? _More like business associates._ He watched as Reika approached him, her reflective goggles hanging in her fingers. Sure, she was pretty, beautiful even – she was a model as well, wasn't she? – but Yamaki wasn't interested in getting to know her, and he supposed she felt the same way.

Reika fell in step next to him as the two left the deck, heading toward the elevators. The overnight employees passing by made no attempts to ask questions. It was common to see the two leaving at the same time, or in each other's company. If they suspected anything, they wisely kept it to themselves.

Reika made no attempt to converse with her boss during the elevator ride down, although he could feel her dark eyes boring into the back of his head. She was a sharp woman and she already knew enough about him to make him feel mildly uncomfortable. Yamaki briefly wondered why he put up with her, why he put up with the prying questions in the dark, the fact that sometimes he got the impression that she was genuinely interested in what he had to say.

Maybe it was because of that. Because she gave as good as he could. He wasn't even sure if he could fire her._  
_

The elevator soon arrived at the lobby. It was then Reika broke the silence:

"Your car?"

"My car. When does your shift start tomorrow?" Yamaki asked, ignoring the stares of a roaming security guard.

"Eight," came the curt reply.

"Fine."

And that was the end of the conversation. No further words were exchanged between them until they reached the parking lot.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaminmon made his way across the roof tops, cursing the way the rain made the tiles slippery, cursing the way the damp gravel gave way under him, and generally cursing everything that came to mind about this damn city.

He had only been here for a few days and already he hated it. The way the lights sparkled, dazzling the eye, the way the breeze whipped its way between the skyscrapers, the way the streets in the day were crowded with those miserable fleshlings, those _humans. _The more he saw of them, the more he thought they had it coming. _  
_

The Digimon who he was supposed to hunt out didn't associate with any humans, according to his Mistress. Kaminmon had a general idea where his target could be found, but it was still a long way to go. More than half way across the city, in fact. He estimated it would probably be a few hours before he'd even be close, and then he'd have the personal enjoyment of trying to find a Digimon who probably didn't _want_ to be found.

He would be patient. Even if he thought he'd go cross-eyed with anger at this forsaken place.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Juggernaut was pleased with something.

Takato could _feel_ the satisfaction, almost imagined it was a tangible thing he could touch. Weird. After all, hadn't the computer told him it was incapable of feelings? Then again, that was days ago, and from what he gathered, the Juggernaut was reading him like a book and _learning_. So maybe it was possible.

Still, he had to wonder what it was that pleased the Juggernaut. Was it something good…well, good for the both of them? The Tamer couldn't really say. His words were wallowed up in the black space, no echo bouncing back and he couldn't really go anywhere because everything looked exactly the same.

Takato closed his eyes, still seeing those colored lines shifting in his vision, and let his hands hang at his side. The irritating buzzing bothering him ever since he'd been kidnapped grew fainter and he found it easier to think. When he did, the thoughts were painful – plans to escape, worry about his family, homesickness, concern about his friends, confusion – and to make matters even _more_ pleasant, he was starting to feel the first pangs of didn't like the feeling of being completely by himself, with no one around him.

It was hours since he talked at all.

Would his friends even try to find him? Juri probably wouldn't, and neither would Kenta – no, Kenta would rather send someone else to take care of his work. _What about Hirokazu?_ A burst of cynical laughter. Too busy trying to buy a card deck good enough to beat Ruki, probably. Besides, he was too wrapped up in hanging around with Kenta anyway. Typical of them to ignore Takato and exclude him. Ruki probably wouldn't even notice he was gone, so no surprise there. Guilmon was probably getting hungry, but then again, he was always hungry, so what else was new?

_And Jenrya?_ A moment of hesitation. Jenrya probably _would_ notice Takato was missing, maybe even go out and look for him for who knew how long. The young Tamer felt the teeth of shame nip at him._  
_

_Wonder how long he's going to look before he decides it's useless?_

Takato knew his friend didn't kid himself about anything, and he wouldn't do something if it was obvious it was pointless. _So what would that be? A few days? A week, at most?_ His loyalty was starting to rapidly fade and he wondered why he'd thought Jenrya could be excluded from the others in the first place. _It's all their fault for doing nothing._ Takato realized in smoldering anger. He ignored the fact he had nothing to support his slowly growing indignation. And if Jenrya _had_ been looking, he certainly hadn't been looking hard enough! The anger drained away, leaving Takato feeling ashamed.

_It's just my temper. Anyone would be testy being in this position._

In the passing hours, his temper swung wildly, going from feeling betrayed to feeling like he was going to burst out into tears. He personally couldn't think of a proper reason for this, other than that it probably had something to do with the Juggernaut.

**You appear to be holding up very well.**

Takato didn't open his eyes – there was nothing to see – and at first he didn't answer, though he wondered why the Juggernaut was talking to him again. Five hours hadn't passed. At least, he was pretty sure that much time hadn't elapsed.

**It hasn't. **The Juggernaut answered. **Your sense of the passage of time is accurate.**

_Then why are you speaking to me again?_

**Another part of me monitors your current mental output. I am merely…what do you call it? When one interacts with another on a purely personal basis, with output exchanged between one another…?**

_Starting a conversation?_ Takato's eyes opened wide at this, surprised. _This_ was new.

** Yes. Starting a conversation.** **Currently, I an unable to take an avatar in this plane – I will soon, to make communication less difficult between us – but I will answer your questions now, as best to my ability.**

Takato glanced around the black space. He'd had about a million things to ask, hundreds, thousands of questions that had been swirling about in his mind. But now his brain decided to go helpfully blank on him. The young Tamer looked about, trying to find something that might jog his memory back into wakefulness.

**There is no pressure. Take as much time as you require.**

Time. Well, _there_ was a question, though it was probably a stupid one. _Hey, how old are you?_

**How old am I?** There was an imitation of a thoughtful pause. **Specify.**

_You can't _get_ any more specific. It's pretty straightforward._

** Incorrect. Do you refer to the day construction on me began or when my awareness program was initiated?**

Takato blinked. _Uh…when was your…um…program started?_

**Approximately thirteen years.**

_Well, what about your construction?_

**Five months, three days, fourteen hours and fifty-two minutes.**

Now how was _that_ possible? Takato knew he was only a kid, but _anyone_ could see the problems with this – there was no possibly way you could be five months and thirteen years old at the same time! Apparently, the Juggernaut sensed his bewilderment, speaking up swiftly before there were any more questions:

**Perhaps this needs some further explanation. Work on me first started approximately five months ago, by the humans here, led by my creator. The first piece of me that was completed was my data banks. Therefore my construction age is not exactly accurate, because the oldest file I possess dates back to the very minute my banks were activated by the one who created me. However, my awareness program is linked to yours, and therefore I have a "memory" that can go back thirteen years ago, though mine can recall the moment of living birth, unlike yours. So, in a way, I am both as old as you, yet I am also much younger. Do you understand now?**

Takato thought he did. So, "physically", the Juggernaut was younger, but "mentally" (or digitally, or whatever), it was as old as him because of that link between them. _Okay, I can understand that._ Put like that it wasn't so complicated, but of course the Juggernaut had to go rambling off, as usual -

** - I am merely supplying additional information to support my answer**. The machine interjected, almost in mild protest.

_Yeah, well, you keep doing that, and you start confusing people._ Takato answered.

**I will keep that in mind, companion system. Do you have any other questions?**

Takato knew he did, but now that he was actually talking to the Juggernaut, they all flooded back and he wasn't sure which one he should ask. It was starting to get a little easier to accept the computer as a sentient being, and even less difficult to forget he wasn't _really_ having a conversation. The Juggernaut seemed to be genuinely interested in answering his questions. It was a change from the background check things, which were either boring or painful. The Tamer made a motion to snap his fingers, remembering something. He'd been wondering earlier what it had been that'd been making the Juggernaut feel so pleased.

Or whatever it felt in place of emotions.

**Two questions. ****To answer the second one – I now can feel a very limited range of emotions, because our systems are further interlocking. But while you have no control over yours, I do. I can pick at will the appropriate emotion for the occasion. I was merely…practicing then.**

_Why?_

**Because it was a situation where I knew I should feel pleased.**

Did these conversations have to be difficult? _What I meant was, _what_ was it that made you feel that way?_

**I received a gift.**

Takato felt his eyebrows shoot up. A _gift_? Somehow, that was the last thing the young boy had been thinking._ A _gift_?_

** A gift.** The Juggernaut agreed. From my creator. **A suitable reason to be pleased, I think. Though I believe it really belongs to you…**

What?

**Your Digivice.**

Takato glanced around wildly, almost expecting to see his D-Arc.

** It is not here, companion system. You have forgotten where you are. Your "D-Arc" is safe. In fact, it is sitting in your physical lap, so there is nothing to concern yourself with**. The Juggernaut reassured him. **You will feel it when I finish the background checks.**

The Juggernaut fell silent, awaiting his next question. Takato mulled this new development over. So he had his D-Arc with him. The young Tamer wasn't completely sure how much power the device had in it, but maybe he could use it to escape? Or maybe sic Growlmon on the Juggernaut so he could get out?

**It would be impossible to "sic" Growlmon on me, companion system. Just as it would be impossible to "sic" him on yourself. You will find your D-Arc will not respond to only your command.** The Juggernaut commented mildly. **It will only recognize you if our signals are joined.**

_What did you do to it?_ Takato demanded.

**I have done nothing. I merely touched it: your D-Arc did the rest. Now, do you have anything else to ask?**

Takato made a face as if he'd tasted something bitter. So he could forget about the D-Arc; leaving him exactly where he'd started. _I might as well forget about it_, Takato realized wearily. He put the news of his D-Arc to the back of his mind, deciding to focus on asking questions. He groped about for something to ask and blurted the first thing that came to mind_. You said you could appear here as an avatar…where is _here_? Is this also in my head?_

**No. Only the background checks are taken from your memory. Your subconscious self I have transferred momentarily. This is a small section of the digital plane.**

The digital plane?

**The area between the Digital World and the Real World. Only computers with my caliber can make much use of this plane, although some Digimon are able to make the transition through this area**, answered the Juggernaut. **If it will make it any easier to explain, think of the Digital World and the Real World as two large masses of land, separated by a chasm. This chasm is very large and has no measurable depth. The only way to cross between the Digital and the Real is to go over the chasm through tears in both their realities – bridges, if you need visualization, although that is a crude way of describing it.**

_Oh…I thought this was the Digital World._

**It is not. No Digimon can survive long here, and so they travel as quickly as they can from one side to the other. Not much is known of the space between the Digital and Real Worlds, and even I am limited in my abilities here, as my programming has little relevant information regarding this space. However, my work can be completed quickly here, and you seem to have no difficulty in this plane.**

_What about what you said earlier, about appearing here as an avatar?_

** Currently, I possess the ability to choose a form for myself in your memories. However, in the bonding between companion systems, I have not reached the point where I can create an image to use here. That in itself will take several more hours. For that, I will need to borrow fragments of your memory in order to do so.**

Takato decided he had a reason to be suspicious. Was this going to mess up his memory or anything?

** No. I will merely copy from you what I need. And after that, I will need to locate the source I will take my image from, in order to accurately imitate the mannerisms. I have enough influence that I can use the city's network freely.**

_ Oh._

There was an awkward silence. Takato fidgeted. He couldn't think of anything else to ask. Not anything worthwhile, at any rate. After a long pause, the Juggernaut spoke up again:

**Perhaps I should ask you some questions.**

Takato started to give his agreement, when he realized something that almost made him do a double take. W_ait a minute, but wouldn't you already know the answers?_ He almost forgotten the machine could read his thoughts.

**Yes, I would already know what you would answer but you could pretend I do not.** The Juggernaut replied. **This is a conversation, after all. You may assume I know little about you. Think of it like a game of Make-Believe, if it helps you.**

_…Okay…_Takato dubiously agreed.

** I shall start, then.** A pause, almost if the Juggernaut was thinking. **You are an only child, correct?**

_Uh huh._

**What do your parents do for a living?**

_They work in a bakery._

**What is it like, to have parents?**

Takato shrugged. Did he hear an almost wistful tone in that question? It was hard to tell – after all, he was dealing with a machine here. _It's okay, I guess. Mom's a good cook, and Dad's funny. They always tuck me in at night, and make me study all the time and tell me what to do…_

**Do they "love" you?**

_ I guess so._

**How old are they? They must be in their mid-thirties.**

Takato nodded.

**They will not live long.**

Takato fought to bite his tongue. He'd spent enough time in the Juggernaut's strange company that he was starting to get used to the tactless remarks it made. He was sure what it said had a point – Takato didn't think it could be menacing – and it probably didn't speak just to showboat its abilities. After all, didn't it say that it couldn't lie? Still, he had to remember they were talking about _his_ parents here! _What do you mean?_

**Exactly what I said. If they are in their thirties, then I would estimate they would live only forty more years. That is not very long.**

_It's long to me_! He countered.

**If you had contact with the outside world, yes; it would be long. But you forget you are in my presence, and therefore time has little effect on you or I. **The Juggernaut replied. **You will not age when you are with me. After we are linked completely, I suspect you will easily outlive your friends and family.**

_What makes you think I'll be here long enough to see that happen, assuming you're telling the truth?_ Takato didn't think he would automatically accept the Juggernaut because it might have a few tricks up its sleeve. Not that it had any sleeves. But he started to think something he did (or thought) was prompting the probing questions, considering how the Juggernaut acted so objectively.

**Think what you will. Perhaps you will think differently in a few days concerning my capacities.** The Juggernaut said. ** Your friends know you from only what their eyes can tell them. I know everything regarding you, how you think and what you desire. In almost every aspect we are different, and I am obviously the superior in my capabilities. Yet, you chose to put your trust in _them_, inferior as they are. It is their perspective you still limit yourself to, not mine. Not yet.**

_ So? What, you're getting jealous or something?_ The young Tamer asked. _Didn't think you were the type._

**Jealous? Hardly. It is merely puzzling to me.** The Juggernaut answered with the ghost of imitated affection. **As it is puzzling how one can "love" another. According to how humans think of such a concept, I find it rather bewildering.** A pause. **But that is not an important matter**. **What is…**it trailed off.

Takato jumped slightly as he felt something light touch his shoulder, almost experimentally. The boy whirled around, still floating in the black space and glancing wildly. Nothing, nothing except the same digital lines he was getting to know so well. No one behind him, which meant…

**My power here is already rapidly growing by being with you, do you see now? It's beginning.**

Another feathery touch, a whisper against his wrist. Takato kept his mouth shut, although the ghostly contact felt awfully familiar. If he closed his eyes (which he did), he could almost imagine his mom standing behind his back and looking over his shoulder. A nearly inaudible sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back. Drifted a little. He'd been stubbornly keeping his thoughts away from what the Juggernaut had told him, had asked him earlier, and had revealed to him in the past few days in its background checks while he had tried to hide behind skeptical and superficial questions. Yet he knew he couldn't shy away forever and it was impossible to bar his mind from what was said, which made more and more sense, more than _he_ certainly wanted to admit…

_A game?_ He supposed it could be a game. _Make Believe?_ He was still a kid, he still played games…and it would be so _easy_ to pretend, to make believe that things were otherwise…

**A giant game. That is all it is. All it ever was…**

** …Since everything began seven years ago.**

A faint breath ruffled his brown hair, the motion still clumsy for lack of practice. Almost like his dad this time, tousling his hai; his dad hadn't done that in _years_. If he didn't know better, Takato could almost believe the clock was getting pushed back, like he was once more a little kid. That he didn't have loads of homework or that pile of responsibilities that just grew as he got older, that his parents always had time for him.

**Time is beyond our reach. I can imitate what your memory can recall. With practice, I will be indistinguishable from the real thing. Perhaps a superior replacement. **The Juggernaut feigned a murmuring, comforting tone.** It is pointless to concern yourself with such things.**

What about his friends and family? They were worried about him; they had to be.

**And how long will they search for you? Weeks? Months?** Another experimentally touch grazed his nose and tweaked at him; he wrinkled it in response. **Not forever. It is reasonable to assume at some point they will give up hope, Takato. And then what will you do? Will it matter if you are eventually forgotten?**

Takato reluctantly shook his head. It wouldn't matter. He had heard all those stories about kids disappearing – after a while, the posters inquiring about the missing kids vanished from the subway walls, and the students at school eventually stopped talking about it and moved on to other, more recent and "interesting" things._ Is that how it would be with me? Am _I_ going to end up just like that, old news? _

It was starting to get difficult to figure out time here. Had he been here for hours? A few days? After a while, it just sort of blended together into a jumbled, garbled mess. It was easier not to think about it.

**Yes. Time is not your concern. Do not think of your family and friends – they do not truly know you. I would think it would benefit you to forget them.**

He didn't think he could, even if he had wanted to. Jenrya, always there, reliant and thinking with a clear head. Guilmon, his absolutely bestest best friend, sometimes clueless, but still the one he could go to when he needed some cheering up. His mom and dad, always there to help him with homework and make him those special bread rolls that tasted so good, his mom coming in every night to tuck him in. Ruki, always making some snide remark, yet managing to help out if he needed it. How could he forget _them_, wipe them from his memory?

**They all have judged you. No one has come. What does that say?**

The Juggernaut didn't wait for an answer.

** It does not matter. They are not here but I am. And in the end, all that will be left will be you and I.** Ghostly fingers gently pushed Takato away, leaving the boy to float slowly forward. **Perhaps you should think this over for a while before we engage in another one of these "conversations".**

_You're leaving?_ Takato asked. Of course, he knew the Juggernaut wasn't really leaving, but it would be silent and unresponsive to him, which pretty much amounted to the same thing. He would be alone. And back where he started until the computer returned to him.

**I must finish my work now, which is going to require most of my attention.**

_ …When…_Takato felt badly he was asking this - like he was giving into some sort of compromise - but he continued anyway. _When…when will you be done?_

**In an hour. You should be informed there is going to be another background check after that.**

Takato digested this. He was starting to get used to the checks and the prospect of one wasn't as terrible as he originally thought not too long ago. Better that then the loneliness. An hour absolutely seemed like a lifetime to him. Takato didn't know just what he was going to do to occupy himself until then. Apparently he didn't need to eat or drink, which was a minor curiosity, but not something he was dying know the reason for. Besides that, there altogether wasn't that much to do.

And if he had to stare at those darned digital lines for even ten more minutes, Takato swore he was going to go crazy.

Or something, if he wasn't already crazy for actually looking forward to talking with the Juggernaut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

His eyes started to hurt again.

Yamaki couldn't tell why. The phantom pains were returning (the last time he felt them at _this_ magnitude had been around two years ago) and now they bugged the hell out of him. _It's been four years_. Yamaki growled . Even the doctors said he should have fully recovered by now. They had been puzzled about his condition, but what could he tell them? They wouldn't believe him anyway.

His's mouth tightened imperceptibly. He was _not_ going to start thinking of that incident again.

Not that nightmare…

If he couldn't erase it from his mind's memory, then he could chose to simply not think about it. Though that was easier said than done some days.

The throbbing became more insistent and stinging, enough Yamaki had to pull one hand from the wheel to push his sunglasses up in order to rub at his eyes.

"Something wrong?"

Yamaki flicked a glance at his passenger. Reika fixed him with a cool stare. He looked away, fixing his gaze on the dark road ahead. "No. Just something caught in my eye." His tone made it clear it wasn't a subject to be pursued.

Reika shrugged. She clearly didn't buy his excuse. He knew he wouldn't have bought it if they'd switched places. The car made its way down the empty streets, passing under the pale cones of light spilling from out the lamps. Next to him, Reika sat in the passenger's seat, her long violet hair pulled back in a loose ponytail as she stared out the window at the passing houses.

They were only a few blocks from his apartment complex when Reika spoke up, still gazing into her reflection in the window.

"We're keeping this quick, right?"

Yamaki nodded, "No foreplay. Not tonight."

"Fine with me. I'm not in the mood for it."

"Neither am I," He eyed the red light as the vehicle idled at the intersection. "I'll give you the keys to my apartment. You know what floor it is."

"What about you?"

"There's something I need to check up on." Yamaki said coolly. "It'll only take fifteen minutes."

Reika asked no more questions as the car swung left, turning onto a side street. Yamaki drove on, lost in thought. _Is it still standing?_ It had been nearly three years since he last saw the building, after all, and he knew the people who lived there had long since moved away, at least two years earlier. His memories of the place were etched deeply into his memory, how it had been before _they_ moved away.

_ And who was to blame for that?_

The apartment complex came into sight, the towering building reaching up into the midnight sky. For the most part, its windows were dark, though he could see one or two were lit. It was pretty late and most of the tenants had already gone to sleep. Yamaki pulled up to the sidewalk. Reika unbuckled herself and, opening the door, the young woman slid gracefully out of the car. Yamaki waited until she disappeared into the building before starting up the car again and easing out of the parking lot.

The house he was going to visit was only a ten minute drive away, which was why he continued to pay rent at this particular apartment in the first place. He supposed he could've bought the house when it had been abandoned, but it would probably hurt too much to wake and eat and sleep there. Better he just stay away, unless it was for brief visits like this one. Yamaki reached up and removed his sunglasses.

It was only another reminder of his failures in the past.

He remembered (remembered _very_ well), driving down this very same street, years ago. Of course, back then it hadn't had so many houses nestled against each other. And the road had been a lot more crowded then: he saw very few cars parked next to the sidewalks now.

Yamaki eased off the gas. The trees whispered overhead in the midnight's gentle breeze as he finally pulled to a stop. For a moment, he remained seated where he was, lifting his head to regard the house he stopped in front of. _It hasn't changed. It looks just as dead as it did the last time I was here_.

Strangely enough, the house hadn't been purchased like he suspected earlier. A five-foot wall surrounded the perimeter of the lot, long overgrown with climbing weeds. The trees were wild, their shaggy tops hanging over the wall. Dry leaves scuttled about the sidewalk and danced against the pavement; he could see the gate had been left partially opened, which made him frown as a thought hit him. _Don't tell me vandals hit this place._ Yamaki got out from the car, shutting the door behind him with a bang and silently surveyed the area, his lips tightening into a thin line. It made him fume with suppressed anger to think a bunch of brats would trespass and deface the lot. What made him even more irritated was the fact his cousins had turned a blind eye to what was happening in their own neighborhood.

_If they even live around here still._

As far as he knew, most of his family – including his parents – left Tokyo recently. They packed up and left without so much as a word of goodbye. They hadn't exchanged words since nearly half a decade ago.

Yamaki approached the derelict lot, his shoes crunching through the dry leaves on the path to the gate. Years ago, the walkway would've been swept clean. Despite his attempts to clean the mess up last time, it was piling up once again. Regretfully, he knew he wasn't going to have enough time to deal with it today. In fact, he knew his work was going to keep him busy for quite a while and that he probably wouldn't have enough time to return for several months, even though he promised himself to visit more often.

As he entered the lot, Yamaki glanced about the area. The trees were whispering each other as their branches rustled and creaked against each other in the strengthening wind. Yamaki didn't hesitate long to listen, instead slowly heading toward the dark house.

As he came upon the dirt-covered threshold, he halted at the door, glancing at the lot behind him. It was depressing, almost painfully so, to see the house liked this. Even more so when one thought of the people who once lived here.

_ I wonder if everything would've happened if I hadn't been there? Would she still be alive? If I hadn't come back to Tokyo, would this house still be occupied?_

He knew part of the fault (most of it?) was his – he was unwilling to put his faith where it should've been and he hadn't then had the resources to combat the digital threat that even then, so long ago, beganto surface. It wouldn't have mattered so much if he had been the casualty. _But instead…_

Yamaki trailed off, leaning on the frame of doorway. His eyes started to burn, which wasn't a good thing. Tears would irritate wounds still sensitive and the idea of going to a doctor right now wasn't appealing. Besides, he hadn't cried since his injury (he supposed it had been a mix between the extent of the damage and his stubbornness that prevented it), and he hadn't cried since he first received the news.

He certainly wasn't going to start now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Takato sat quietly against the wall of the sculpted jungle gym, looking around. This background check was a little different than what he was getting used to and he wasn't sure what to think of it.

To start things off, the Juggernaut hadn't gotten immediately to work. Instead, it told him to wait and that it would be with him momentarily. That was fifteen minutes ago. Not that he had a problem with sitting around doing nothing – at least this place was familiar, and he supposed anything was better (and less boring) than that digital plane thing. But it irritated him the Juggernaut had been all uppity earlier about being efficient and saying they must cooperate and act quickly to complete its task, among other things, only for the computer to disappear off on him.

He thought he was getting a hang of how things were handled here, but now he'd apparently been put on hold. Or whatever term could be applied to his current guessed he should make the best of where he was: for one thing, it was nice to listen to the background noises of the park, just sit there and _listen_. Sparrows chirped back and forth to each other. He couldn't hear any cars or any people, for that matter. In the distance, that same dog was barking. _It's getting more and more detailed here each time._ He remembered hazily that the first check was almost completely silent. And the scenery had been too bright, like there was some huge light bulb peeping through a filter.

_Guess it really is learning._ He leaned forward, staring with a sudden interest at the floor. The Juggernaut had it. Right down to the little, itty bitty brown flecks imbedded in the concrete.

**Enjoying yourself?**

Takato sat up sharply, for no reason feeling ashamed of himself. Guiltily he sat back against the wall. There was a scrabbling sound outside of the jungle gym.

** I am coming in.**

A gray head appeared for a moment, followed by a pair of paws. Takato couldn't help staring in fascination as what appeared to be the top half of a lean dog popped over the ledge, trying to push itself over the floor and not quite making it. The gray shoulder muscles bunched and twisted as the animal fought to get onto the next level. After a few minutes, Takato finally leaned forward.

"Um…do you need any help?"

**Yes.** The Juggernaut answered after a pregnant pause.** It appears this body is not meant for this type of strain.**

Takato almost laughed, but thought better of it, instead crawling over on his hands and knees until he was closer to the Juggernaut's current avatar. He placed his hands on the paws, hesitating. If he tried to pull the doggy up, wouldn't he risk injuring the animal? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea: he didn't really like the idea of maybe breaking a bone or dislocating a limb.

**I will be fine. Help me up.**

With a dubious expression on his face, Takato's fingers closed around the Juggernaut's paws and he sat backward, pulling as hard as he could. Between his heaving and the dog's efforts, the machine's avatar managed to scramble up, with his help, onto the floor of the jungle gym. Takato settled back to give the Juggernaut some breathing space, his hands resting on his knees as he stared.

Considering the forms the Juggernaut picked in the past, this was probably one of the nicest. It was easily the most lifelike. This time it was a beautiful greyhound, sleek, with closely cropped silver fur he suddenly had an urge to pass his hand over. He managed to resist the temptation, although he was dying to know if dog was as wonderfully soft as it looked. The greyhound padded a few feet into the tiny room, its claws clicking almost inaudibly on the concrete as it circled about. It finally settled down in the warmth of the mid-noon sunlight, the light spilling through the small hole cut in the jungle gym and across the floor, turning its coat into molten silver.

The greyhound's head swiveled around to fix its eyes on the Tamer, noticing his fascinated stare. **Is this a suitable avatar, companion system? More appropriate, I think.** The dog bared its teeth in a fake yawn.

_Where were you?_ Takato wondered. His eyes remained glued on the greyhound; he was unable to tear them away.

**I had some things that required my immediate attention**. The Juggernaut tilted its gray snout, the very motion fluid. It shook its head at the Tamers's unspoken question. For the time being, it was apparent the machine didn't feel it was something he needed to know at the moment and probably wasn't going to satisfy his curiosity any time in the near future. The animal began to pant, pretending to be overheated as it kept that slightly unnerving gaze on the young boy. **I will begin now**.

Takato nodded half-heartedly, although he was far more interested in admiring the dog then sitting down for another lecture.

It seemed like it'd been forever since he'd seen another living thing.

** I have decided to use this session to address several things I think are important to reaching my projected goal.** The Juggernaut began. **The first issue I wish to address is the matter of your own behavior.**

_ What about it?_ The young boy absent-mindedly wondered. His attention, however, remained fixed on the beautiful animal, instead of on the computer's words.

**It concerns obedience. I have been reviewing the information I have on file regarding you, and it seems you are lacking in this area. For example, you occasionally fail to obey the command of your parents. They tell you to do your homework, but you do not. Instead, you do something else, such as drawing. But when they ask if you are working hard, you say nothing. Not only do you disobey the order, but you also deviate from the truth by keeping silent.**

Takato failed to see how this was a supposedly "dangerous" flaw. It was just a harmless white lie, wasn't it?

**Let me explain, using myself as an example. I am a computer, therefore I possess none of these flaws. If I am given a command, I follow it. I do exactly what I am ordered. Because of this, I never fail. **A reproaching look from the greyhound. **It should be fairly obvious – even to you, Takato Matsuda – which is why I have chosen not to focus entirely on this defect. Even you should see this for what it is. If you do not obey all commands, you will fail. Always. When we merge, we (as one) must obey all commands given in order to accomplish the set goal. **

**There can be no arguments, no doubts. There can be no is no "why" in programming. Such things mean nothing to me, and should mean nothing to you as well. "Why" is meaningless.**

During this little lecture, Takato managed to scoot closer to the avatar. The Juggernaut didn't appear to notice, although its unblinking eyes were still fixed on him. He decided to pass on asking the question on the tip of his tongue, instead content to just sit there and take in the pretty animal up close. The Tamer was itching to smooth down the silver fur, to touch it just for a moment, but he reminded himself it probably wasn't a good idea. Still, he was sorely tempted, and it was difficult to keep his mouth clamped shut.

**I trust you understand this.** The Juggernaut paused then, and the dog's slender head turned expectantly toward the entrance to the jungle gym. Takato's eyes automatically followed the greyhound's gaze – there was little reaction from the boy as he watched a carbon copy of himself clamber into the small room, lugging a shoebox of cards with him. The Tamer instinctively started to move aside as the other Takato set his box down on the concrete floor, but he stopped when the other boy practically sat down on top of his legs.

The other Takato went through him like a ghost.

Just a phantom from some fading memory. Takato glanced away from the "ghost", instead turning his eyes back to the Juggernaut's avatar for an explanation.

**The latest occurrence of an act of disobedience. Tthis happened less than a week ago.**

That recent? How long had he been in the Juggernaut, anyway?

**Only a few days. But that is not relevant at the moment.** The computer replied. **When you came here, you told your mother you were going to Jenrya Lee's house to study for a math test. But you did not follow through with what you said. Just as you never did when you spent most of the night making pictures of Growlmon – you failed to comply with the order your mother gave you. You cannot afford to follow this pattern any longer. There is only failure if you continue to do so.**

**D****o you want to fail?**

He could almost hear the chagrin in his voice, "Well…no, but…"

**You do recognize the need to fix this defect, correct? Although it is not difficult to correct this flaw, disobedience is listed – in my banks – as one of the most dangerous you possess.  
**

The greyhound glanced at the ghostly image of the other Takato. The boy sifted through his deck, his red D-Arc sitting near his knee, and looking for something as his hands moved about the cards laid out before him. Takato ignored the phantom hand that passed through his thigh.** Contrary to your belief, these are not accusations, Takato Matsuda.**

Takato started to protest he didn't think they were but he thought better of it. Once again, the Juggernaut saw through him. _Guess there's no point in getting huffy about it, then._

**Precisely**.

It wasn't as painful to Takato to hear the ring of truth in the Juggernaut's words this time, though he now had to wonder what got him so riled up in the first place. Now that he'd been in the computer's company a little while longer, he began to be a bit more accepting, and it was becoming a mystery to him why he'd been acting so strangely then.

It never occurred to him _he_ might have changed since then.

Takato cradled his chin in one hand as he stared at the greyhound. Now that it was clear he understood what needed to be done, the Juggernaut would probably move on to other things. Hopefully it wouldn't be boring. He glanced at the other Takato: the boy was oblivious to their presence. Takato couldn't help feeling a faint sense of disgust at the other and he glanced away before the emotion could get much stronger. How he could have ever been so carefree was beyond his understanding.

**I have received confirmation the companion system has recognized this imperfection.**

Takato shrugged, not really paying as much attention as he had been earlier: it wasn't a big surprise or anything and he guessed the computer was only following its programming. Besides, it was so much nicer to just admire the Juggernaut instead of being reminded of the memories that were now starting to get more and more hazy. The boy kept his eyes on the Juggernaut, studiously ignoring the other Takato. _What now?_

**I decided perhaps it would do some good to brief you on the situation, as well as shed some light on the purpose of the merge.**

Although his interest wasn't really there, Takato nodded.

**As I mentioned earlier, I, by myself, am unable to interact with the network of Tokyo, although I do have access to it.** The Juggernaut began as it folded its gray paws onto one another.** The work we will be doing will require this interaction for the storing of data and various forms of energy and is the reason for the merge. Currently, I have little data concerning the details – my creator has yet to upload that into my system – but in the future, we will be working with and sorting the energy that will soon be channeled us from the outside and…**

The machine continued to talk as time passed. It spoke of the programs which would be activated once they were one and what those programs would do. But Takato's interest faded quickly. His attention span dipped even lower at the minutes ticked by. The minutes began to stretch and as the Juggernaut got more and more technical, Takato got more and more bored. Maybe the two were inversely proportioned, he abruptly wondered. Like, the longer the computer talked, the shorter his attention span got.

** …by absorbing all the mental programs and files into one "consciousness" and assimilating the companion system into the…**

Gosh, he was _bored_. He was "hearing" the words, yeah, but they weren't quite clicking in his head. He was fine with admiring the pretty doggy, although the temptation to pet it was growing._ I wonder if it's as soft as a chinchilla? _One of his friends used to have a chinchilla, before she moved away – it looked like a ridiculously cute mix between a squirrel and a rabbit, but to him, the best part had how fluffy it was. The gray-black fur had been as soft as fine down.

**…with the aid of an outside source, packets of data will be gathered and…**

All these thoughts about animals were making him almost wish he'd been allowed to have one. Stupid of him. His parents wouldn't let him even take care of a hamster, much less a dog.

**…build up enough energy according to the set parameters and release it. In theory, the collective energy should have enough stored up power to propel itself straight upward and transcend through the levels of the different planes, which will allow…**

A dog would be nice. Takato _could_ take care of it, he thought he was pretty responsible for his age. After all, look how he'd taken care of Guilmon – true, it had been hard, but Guilmon was healthy, which went to show he'd probably been giving him the proper care. Try telling that to Mom and Dad.

**…the breach through the barrier between planes will result in a…**

Takato's eyes rested on the greyhound. Actually, now that he thought about it, a dog just like the Juggernaut would be great. The animal was almost unreal, the stray flickers of sunlight turning its fur into glimpses of blazing silver as the tree branches outside rasped comfortably in the gentle breeze.

**When the barrier has been disabled, it entirely possible it will affect the - …**The Juggernaut trailed off, its sleek head rising up and looking with reproach at Takato, who was still staring into space. In the silence that followed Takato blinked sheepishly, realizing the computer had stopped talking and was now looking questioningly at him. **Are you paying attention, companion system?**

"Um…I was…uh…" Takato made an attempt to look away, but his eyes seemed to move with a will of their own and locked back onto the greyhound. He scratched the back of his head. He sighed as the Juggernaut waited expectantly for an answer. Yeah, he would ask, he decided as he blurted, "Um…I know this is _really_ off-topic and stuff, but…er…could I, uh…pet you?"

The response from the Juggernaut was classic. The greyhound stared at him sharply in astonishment, falling completely silent at the question as if it had difficulty processing it. He'd actually caught the computer off guard. It occurred to him maybe the Juggernaut wouldn't agree. _Hopefully that's not the case._

It wasn't. The beautiful dog lowered its head so that its snout rested on its paws. It looked almost like a gesture of submission.

**Very well**. The false mirth was evident in the Juggernaut's omnipresent voice. **You may do so. But you must pay attention to what I say. It holds great importance to what will come.** To the computer's credit, it even pretended to wag its tail, for a moment looking like a real greyhound. **Do not let your mind wander away from what I am telling you – all you have to do is keep it open, and you may pet me as long as you like.**

Takato wasted no time in plopping himself right next to the gray animal. _You're sure this is okay?_ He asked doubtfully. _You don't mind?_

**It is fine. And no, I do not mind. It is not my body – only a representation – and I do not have the ability to care. So it matters little to me if you pet me or not.**

A blunt answer, but Takato was really just happy with the way things turned out. There was a little surge of triumph. He hadn't been expecting the machine would let him do this, but he supposed he guessed wrong. Yet another misjudgment he'd made regarding the Juggernaut. Tentatively, he reached out with one hand and lightly touched the glistening gray fur. For a brief moment, it was coarse, then the avatar's sleek form shimmered and rippled as a black eye turned to fix on him. Another braver touch. The fur was no longer coarse; now it was impossibly soft, he found, his long fingers passing with open admiration over the gray coat.

As he did this, the Juggernaut resumed its lecture, satisfied the Tamer was ready to listen.

**It is because of the merge we will succeed where there has only been failure. The merge will result in…**

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Yamaki felt positively lazy as he lay on his back, aware of the sheets under him, aware of his blond hair lying in a messy halo around his head, the damp strands tickling his cheek. Aware, too, of the warmth of another body at his side. From the murmurs Reika made, the model was just as sleepy as he was.

But that didn't stop her from asking those questions.

A warm hand snaked up under the sheets and caressed his arms, the her fingernails brushing his skin. Yamaki had kept his arms crossed across his bare chest when they finished, although he made no attempt to pull away from the lingering touches, which were just as familiar as he remembered. The fingers paused as they encountered the same old obstacles they found every night the two did this. Reika began tracing the ridges of the scars on the skin. They were old, years old. They hadn't faded away. Yamaki wasn't sure he wanted them to.

"I don't think these were all from a suicide attempt," Reika breathed.

"You know me better than that."

The probing fingers poked at one particularly large scar as Yamaki turned his head to focus sleepily on his companion. Reika glanced up, her eyes unreadable in the dim light peeping in through the drawn shades. "Then where did you get them?"

"That's none of your business," he replied softly.

This remark earned a snort. "It's never my business."

"I have them. It's old news."

Her voice was husky with physical satisfaction as she gave a low chuckle. She pressed on.

"An accident, then?"

"I was careless at the time." Yamaki closed his eyes. Reminded himself later to open a window or something – the scent of sex wasn't particularly pleasing to him. Besides, that scent drowned out the more pleasant one of the model's hair. _Rose? I could have sworn it was rose last time. Or maybe it was freesia? _Yamaki was too tired on it. "Accidents happen."

"Not to you."

"No one's perfect."

Reika pressed herself closer, tucking her head so it rested on his naked shoulder. He could feel her lips brush up against his skin teasingly as she spoke. A final tweak at one of the raised ridges from his uneven scars: "You like to pretend you are, though."

"Bull."

"That's not very professional," she purred. Despite his natural suspicions, Yamaki started to drift away. Tonight had been surprisingly satisfying. His body was fine with just lying where it was now that it had lost all that tense energy. Still, he didn't trust himself. If he fell asleep, he might say something he shouldn't.

Reika yawned. Yamaki could feel her warm body shifting against his as she stretched languidly. Her breath was hot against his skin as she sighed in temporary content. He was silent for a moment, before his low voice broke the heavy, comfortable silence:

"Go to sleep. It's three in the morning, Reika."

"Am I hitting too close to home?" Reika murmured. It was impossible to tell if she was speaking matter-of-factly or mockingly.

"Not even close," he replied. The lie came easily to him, years of practice making it less and less difficult to tell the same one over and over again.

"Really." Although Reika was on the verge of falling asleep, her tone was dry.

"Really."

A sound of disbelief floated up from the darkness. "So then I would be just as wrong if I thought you were not even Yamaki Mitsuo until recently?"

For a brief moment that seemed to stretch into endless eternity, Yamaki froze, going rigid. How had she known that? He'd be more than careful keeping his personal records from the public eye. They were as good as gone. No one could salvage them, not even himself, not even if his life depended on it. _But if she knows that much, then…_ That was it. She _didn't_ know, thus the question. It was only a guess. _She doesn't know._ He realized with a thick wave of satisfaction, breathing easier now. _She never did._

And never would.

"Wrong and gullible for believing those rumors."

"Are you suggesting you miraculously appeared out of nowhere?" Reika asked into the crook of his neck, her lips brushing against his chin. Her movements were slow as she kissed him.

"Not at all." He obliged Reika and tilted his head back into the pillow so she could press closer, his eyes still closed. "I _am_ suggesting you shouldn't bother bringing up a dead subject."

"Does it bother you?" An experimental prod.

"It does when I'm trying to get some sleep and a certain someone keeps asking all these questions."

Reika's laugh was almost inaudible, a nearly silent chiming sound. "Nosy, huh?" She nipped at him underneath his jaw line, but didn't go any further. "Nosy questions come from nosy people, right?"

"Exactly."

"You ever think there's a reason for nosy questions?"

"Never. As far as I'm concerned, you can keep on asking as long as you like."

Reika was quiet for a long second, apparently thinking something over, and he felt her moving away from him, the comfortable warmth drawing away. It was colder now that she was further away, but he wasn't about to come crawling over and insist she keep at his side. It wouldn't matter anyway. She'd be gone by the time he woke up. And it looked like she'd stopped with the questions for the night, which made him sigh with relief.

However, it looked like his guess was off the mark as a sigh drifted up from the shadows.

"How long have we been doing this, Yamaki?"

A pause as he thought about it. "Almost a year? Or two?"

"That long?" Yamaki's eyes crept open, glancing with sleepy curiosity at the woman next to him. Reika's smooth back was to him, lying now closer to the edge of the bed. It wasn't a large bed, but from where he lay, the distance between them looked immeasurable. "It's hard to imagine that. It seems like it's only been a few months." A yawn, which proved to be contagious as he tried to stifle his that followed suit. "Maybe I just need some sleep right now, but it seems like it…" she trailed off.

_Is this over? Are you tired of me now, I wonder?_

But he didn't say anything. Yamaki didn't exactly pride himself on being tactful, but there was some little voice in the back of his mind that decided it was wiser to keep silent. If Reika felt like rambling, well, then fine, she could go right on ahead, he certainly wasn't going to stop her. Yamaki kept his breaths even and slow, staring up and regarding the dark ceiling above him. It was a bit strange – usually her inquiries were a lot longer and intense, but something was clearly on her mind tonight.

"Never mind."

Reika had been on the verge of admitting something, but hadn't. _Maybe she doesn't trust me?_ Yamaki wondered. It wasn't _his_ business what she thought or what she did – as long as she didn't slack off at Hypnos, he wasn't going to say anything.

He probably should focus on work himself. It hadn't been made clear to him just what the meeting tomrrow was about, or even why. No, he'd been simply told that Nagamora would "like to have a private discussion"_. A private discussion at five in the goddamn morning? "Private conversation" my ass._ It was difficult to determine what Nagamora thought or how much he knew that Yamaki and it just rubbed Yamaki the wrong way to hand out information when withholding it was just safer. He could explain why he got this vibe off his superior. That perfectly _normal_ face, for one. Nagamora surely wasn't aware of the extent of Yamaki's knowledge concerning the digital threat and the previous incidents.

It was far, far greater than just that one incident.

_And it's going to stay that way._ Nagamora knew things regarding the digital menace (hence the reason for the agreement to pour funds into Hypnos) that _he_ didn't, but Yamaki had access to hundreds of files he "forgot", numerous times, to bring up whenever they met. Files that outlined the plans, files that had all known data on Digimon saved on them, even files from long ago that described the first incident with the Digital World. _Funny what a little research on my part can dig up_. Yamaki had stumbled across the curt, emotionless reports when he'd first started Hypnos – being more than a little proficient with computers, it had been easy to get into the government's network.

He'd been bored at the time, if he recalled correctly.

Of course, it had been a big shock then. He'd been already aware by that time there was something up with his newfound sponsors, but he hadn't been expecting _that_ level of participation. According to the clandestine report, Nagamora's branch had been involved in the first Digital World incident. It had been their officials that saw to the clean up. It shook him badly to think _she_ hadn't been the only victim – no, she'd been, what, the ninth? Tenth? But that wasn't an excuse.

There was no excuse.

It was easy to blow off Nagamora during the video-conferences, but when it was face-to-face…well, it was safe to say Yamaki stayed on his toes. Better to dumb himself and his operations down, and pretend to be far more dependent on Nagamora than he truly was. _Never know – the man just might slip himself._ And he'd be waiting. It was the previous involvement with Digimon, and Nagamora himself, that made the him instinctively suspicious.

Yamaki listened to the slow rhythm of Reika's breathing not too far away. She'd eventually drifted off, the model now fast asleep.

Yamaki closed his eyes, focusing on letting himself relax. He'd heard on average it took a human seven minutes to go to sleep. His work these days wasn't pointless, not like it had been before the Incident. But he didn't let himself get caught up in the "grandeur" of it all – he wasn't some knight on his crusade against evil. Far from it. His operations were almost completely covert, for one thing. And he wasn't doing this just for himself anymore._ I'll delete them all, for the good of everyone._ If they were deleted…it wouldn't erase the past, but he would be damned if it would happen again while he was alive. It was painfully obvious those kids he recently saw and their pet Digimon were going to be prime targets.

After all, it had been the same the first time there was contact with the Digital World.

It had been the same when _she_ met her partner. It didn't take long for the monsters to hunt her down. They had been hauntingly efficient.

Yamaki's fingers touched the raised skin of a scar just above his collarbone. He couldn't possibly forget the sensation of falling through that glass, feeling it sprinkling around him as he hit the floor inside. The searing agony of the chunks of glass that had been forced into his arms and other parts of his body. Those scar were testimony of his failures in the past, mistakes Yamaki would never make again in his lifetime. For him, what happened to then would never repeat itself.

_ But are others going to make the same, wrong decisions? Is this just an endless cycle?_ He hoped not, but he found he couldn't summon up any faith in the strength of humanity.

**To be continued...**

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	7. Side Story Yamaki Mitsuo: Blind Eye, Par...

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: I don't own or claim to own Digimon. This fanfiction is for fun.  
**Author's Note**:

Names were changed because I initially wrote this before I knew the names for Impmon's Tamers in canon. Junko and Shin are intended to be AiI and Mako.

This is the first of the Side Stories for side characters whose separate stories will have an impact or be referred to in the larger story. This one will serve to give the Digital Shuffle version for why Yamaki is so hell-bent on deleting all Digimon, his vendetta against Musyamon. No Takato, Jenrya, Ruki, Hypnos, Kincaid or Kaminmon. **Yamaki focused, pre-Hypnos**, **four years before the start of Digimon Tamers.  
**

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
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**(Side Story: Yamaki Mitsuo – Blind Eyes)**

_Four years ago_

"This isn't the greatest time to be bringing this up again, Eiji."

Yamaki Asamiya shifted the phone to his other ear, the cord threatening to tangle itself in his legs. "Look. I just got divorced, I'm due for a meeting with an executive in about three hours, I just got off the damn plane, I need a bath, and I'm dead tired."

"I'm not demanding you come over first thing, Yamaki. I'm reminding you you promised. Remember?"

Yamaki sighed and sat down on the edge of the hotel's bed. He couldn't help the irritated edge in his voice this time as he answered."Yeah, I _remember_, you don't need to keep pounding me over the head about it."

He began to unbutton the cuffs of his shirt, holding the phone clamped down between his cheek and his shoulder as he rolled up the sleeves. All he really wanted was a nice long soak in the suite's bath and an even longer nap on the heels of _that_, but he knew just because he was sore and cranky, he didn't have the right to take it out on his older brother like that. Not exactly a good impression he was making, especially when one considered just how long he'd been away. With a sigh, he said "I'm being an ass, aren't I?"

"You are." Eiji Asamiya replied cheerfully, unfazed. "But you can make it up by keeping your promise."

_Damn him._ Yamaki scowled. It was typical of his brother to take advantage of the situation like that. _Opportunist._ And Eiji _knew_ Yamaki wouldn't go against his word: the older Asamiya knew how he hated debts, first of all, and how he always tried to do what was right. And taking a little time off to visit relatives was most definitely falling in the "right" category, right next to keeping one's promises.

"Okay, okay, you win. You're leaving tomorrow at noon, right?" Yamaki gave in with a sigh.

"Yes." Eiji answered triumphantly. There was a shuffling of papers from the other side of the line, "Yeah, we'll be back by Monday. Ish."

"I'll come in the morning then. I'm staying at your house until you return?"

"We'll take care of the hotel fees, so yeah, don't worry about it. 'Sides, we'll be back before you can settle in. I can't have my little runt of a brother squatting on my property." Eiji said. Unseen on the other end of the line, Yamaki rolled his eyes at this. He wasn't _that_ small, first of all – tall for his age, actually – and he was younger by only a few years. Eiji laughed quietly, changing subjects, "You know, she's really looking forward to seeing you again."

Yamaki couldn't help a smile. "It's been what, six months?"

"More than that."

"Try again."

"Two years?"

"That's seems about right. _She's_ been pestering us since the day you said you were visiting," Eiji added.. "If you have time, why don't you drop by tonight for dinner? You know where we live, right?"

"Pretty sure I do. I'll try, but there's no guarantee I'll be able to make it. Probably won't."

Eiji only chuckled. "Brownie points for effort, Yamaki. I'll be seeing you."

"Me too. Bye, Eiji." Yamaki replied. His older brother hung up on the other end of the line with a click.

It had been a long time since he talked to his brother – or the rest of his family, for that matter. Since his decision to get married three years earlier, his parents made it clear they hadn't agreed with the marriage. He wouldn't be surprised if they had denounced him as their son by now. That or disowned him. Yamaki knew he probably deserved it. It was obvious they no longer wanted to deal with the "troublemaker" of the family.

_They told me not to get married to that woman – they warned me over and over, but _no_, I didn't listen…_

With a grunt, he pushed away the blinds and headed to the window. Yamaki drew the blinds, the light from outside slanting through the opened slats and casting bars across his face. Below the hotel, cars crowded the early noon streets. Everyone down there knew where he or she was going. The blond couldn't say the same for himself. He knew he looked like hell (he felt like it too) and he needed to clean himself up so he'd at least give the _impression_ he was a professional.

Yamaki stepped over his luggage, and entered the bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt as sore muscles protested. He still couldn't figure out what made Yayoi suddenly pack up and demand they file for divorce, all he knew he hadn't agreed with it, but he'd went along anyway, deciding if it made Yayoi happy, he'd have to. Another dejected sigh. The sudden announcement Yayoi wanted a divorce had been stunning and the events afterward were a blur, leaving Yamaki dazed in the frenzied aftermath of paperwork and exchanges between attorneys over dividing money.

Which left him with a dangerously low bank account and alone, not to mention his company suddenly decided to lay off a bunch of people. For all he knew, he could be next.

Yet all he could think about was Yayoi.

Yamaki shook his head. He needed to be alert if he was going to be having a meeting with that executive – he had been told his company might be merging within the next three months, so he'd have to be prepared to discuss terms. The only plus was he could visit his relatives while he was here.

_I was so afraid of my family criticizing me that I kept my mouth shut._ Yamaki began peeling off his shirt, frowning down at the tiled floor. _I know what Dad would say – "I told you so" – but I deserved it this time._ His parents, when he first introduced them to Yayoi, had been emphatic with disapproval afterward. He could still hear their words; that he wouldn't amount to anything if he continued to maintain relations with "that _girl_" (said with a particularly insulting tone), that "she was the type who' never be satisfied with anything". His mother added if he went so far as to _marry_ her, Yamaki couldn't expect to have anywhere to come crawling back because he certainly wouldn't get any further support from them. At the time, Yamaki protested loudly, and they got into a huge argument which carried on into days, then weeks and finally into months – it wasn't long before he left the city, vowing that he wouldn't ever ask for their aid for anything, and that he would be fine and happy with his new wife.

He knew now that he'd been overly optimistic and naive.

Damn parents. Damn them for being right. Damn them for knowing what they were doing.

Damn them for proving him wrong time and time again.

_Well, I'm _not_ here to ask for help_. Yamaki reminded himself. He was here for business and visitation. Yamaki, in an unusual display of temper, kicked his shirt into the corner. It was frustrating, how he had to tip-toe around so his parents wouldn't know he was here – he made Eiji and his wife Yawara promise they wouldn't say a word about his return, but it didn't help since they lived in a neighborhood where several noisy cousins lived. Still, it was worth the had been a long time since he'd played with his brother's kids. Yamaki had to wonder how they were doing in school now.

He'd seen recent pictures of them, but he wanted to see the two in person. Pictures really didn't do them justice.

His niece looked very cute in the photo Eiji gave him, her brown hair done up in two little pigtails. She was the one he'd be watching over for the next few days. Eiji told him that she had wanted to stay behind because she knew her favorite uncle. The rest of the family – Eiji, Eiji's wife Yawara, and Junko's brother Shin – would be gone for several days on some sort of family outing.

_I'm going to have to think up something for us to do together._ Yamaki realized. He'd have to prove that he was _still_ the uncle she loved, and not the complete jerk he felt he was at the moment. He'd get a chance to take a look at Junko's drawings too. Eiji had bragged about her earlier, saying, "She's gotten really good, she's always drawing these days. She's _crazy_ over this new game that came out – she wants me to get the cards for her birthday, y'know."

Curiously, Yamaki asked, "What's this game called?"

His older brother snorted good-naturedly as he replied:

"Digimon."

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_Saturday, morning_

Junko did a pretty good flying tackle, complete with kisses and giggles.

"I'm happy to see you too, Jun-Jun!" Yamaki laughed, resorting once again to her old nickname. He easily held the six year-old in his arms as Junko began patting his thick golden hair as if it were a carpet. With all her moving around, he was afraid she'd fall out of his arms and splat against the sidewalk.

"Where _were_ you?" Junko demanded playfully.

Yamaki grinned at his young niece, "Oh, here…there…a little bit of everywhere…"

"Uncle Yama, _really_! Where were you? I was waiting and waiting!"

Yamaki turned as Eiji cleared his throat behind him. His older brother had cropped his blond hair short to only a few centimeters, military short, far shorter than his younger brother's, his tinted glasses glinting in the morning sun, but the older Asamiya looked as he had when he'd last seen him. A bit thicker built than Yamaki, Eiji's face was more rounded, accented by tiny laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes.

"Junko, what did I tell you about leaping at people like that?" he said, "You can't expect everyone to catch you. One of these days you're going to fall doing that and crack open your skull."

Junko made a face, "Will _not_! I never hurt myself. 'Sides, Uncle Yama always catches me." She glanced at her uncle for support from her dad, who was apparently soaking up all the fun and replacing it with all the boring stuff.

"She's right, Eiji," Yamaki immediately came to her rescue. "I don't drop things…" he paused, and smiled evilly at his niece, "Except certain little _pig-tailed nieces_!"

He let go of her as he said these words – Junko let out a delighted shriek as she plummeted - but his niece only fell a few inches before he caught her again, sweeping her up in his arms. Junko burst into giggles. Eiji only shook his head at Yamaki, unable to prevent the smile from creeping onto his face.

"Really, Yamaki, you're no better than she is."

Yamaki chuckled. "I am _not_."

"He is _too_!" Junko said at the same time. Yamaki glanced at her and grinned.

"Guess I can't lie. You caught me there, Junko: I admit it – I'm hopelessly and incurably immature."

"See, Daddy, I was right!"

Her father grunted good-naturedly, "So you were. Yamaki, why don't you come in? We're not ready to go yet."

Eiji made a motion for Yamaki to come in. He followed his older brother into the house, slipping out of his shoes and into the waiting slippers, as he hefted the light weight of his niece onto his shoulders. Junko gave a squeal as she settled behind his neck, legs waving as she clasped small hands around his forehead. The three trooped down the hall, approaching what the young man remembered as the large kitchen. As they neared the room, two heads popped around the doorway.

"Oh, hello, Yamaki!" The taller of the two said. Yawara flashed her white teeth in an easy grin at both her husband and Yamaki, "Thanks so much for coming."

"Uncle Yama!" The other, a young boy who looked to be about two years younger than Junko, made an identical expression as his mother, though he had a tooth missing, "Are you goin' on vacation with us?"

"As much as I'd love to, I regret to say I'm not.

Shin pouted, "Aww…"

Yawara frowned warningly, "Shin…"

The young boy made a face, muttering automatically a "Sorry".

Yamaki stepped into the kitchen, and got down onto his knees to allow Junko to hop off. Eiji joined the group, moving about the table so he was standing behind the room's counter. Yawara had been cooking something on the stove before Yamaki had arrived. Yawara motioned for the younger Asamiya brother to take a seat at the table, as Shin and Junko ran off to their rooms to retrieve some toys or drawings they wanted to show their uncle.

Yawara crossed her arms on the table, leaning toward him, "So, it's been awhile, Yamaki. How're things?"

Yamaki leaned back in his chair. "Not as well as I would've preferred, but okay," he said. He'd been hoping she wouldn't ask…well, a little lie never hurt anyone, he supposed. _There's no reason to go around complaining about _my_ problems,_ he reasoned.

The woman blinked, "Really? That's good. I heard you got divorced…?"

"Yeah."

Yawara sighed, shaking her head, "I'm sorry to hear that. You're still living in Osaka?"

He nodded, "I'm not planning to live there permanently."

Eiji joined in, stirring something bubbling in a pot, "So, then where are you going to move to?"

"I don't know. I haven't given it that much thought," Yamaki shrugged.

Yawara pointed at herself, her lips turning up in that friendly, accepting grin that so mirrored her husband's, "You're always welcome here."

"Thank you." Yamaki glanced over his shoulder around the kitchen – this was a subject he didn't really want to continue, so he added, "What about you two? I've a lot to catch up on."

Eiji exchanged a special glance with his wife, who smiled. her hand unconsciously smoothed her sweater over her stomach. Yamaki's eyebrow shoot up as he suddenly noticed how the material of her clothing was stretched taunt. _He _can't_ be serious._ _Just how many are they going to _have_ anyway?_

"You're…you're…" he stammered intelligently.

"Pregnant? Might be." Yawara winked.

"Congratulations," said Yamaki, a little stunned.

The silence was broken by the two children racing back in. Shin slid past the door way, his socked feet skidding on the wooden panels of the corridor's floor. Yawara shouted after him, her voice easily switching from the conversational adult one to that of a mother:

"No running in the house!"

There was a belated "sorry" followed by a muffled crash. Yawara made a long-suffering face. Shin had slipped and fallen, instead of heeding his mother's warning. The woman shook her head, rubbing at her temples before looking up again.

"He never watches where he's going," Yawara sighed. She got up, pushing her chair back. "Excuse me, Yamaki. I'm going to have to find some band-aids for him."

Yamaki nodded, watching as she left the kitchen. The quiet sniffles quickly died away as Shin was herded to the bathroom. Eiji began to ladle broth into several bowls as Junko ran in, her hands full of papers and several stuffed animals.

"Uncle Yama!" Junko made a beeline toward Yamaki. He picked up her up and sat her on his knee as she continued, "Here, look at this!"

He took the offered bundle of papers and spread them out onto the table as Junko wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, glancing from the drawings to her uncle, eager to see his reaction.

"Did you draw all of these yourself?" Yamaki asked, holding up one. He had to admit, he was genuinely impressed – Eiji hadn't been exaggerating at all. "These are really good, Jun-Jun."

Junko beamed at him, pleased. She pointed with a childish finger at the creature on the somewhat crinkled paper, oblivious to its condition, "That's Gabumon. He's a Rookie." She leaned away from her perch on his knee, picking up another picture with the open pride of a young child – it was a little sketchy, but it looked like a white teddy (polar?) bear sporting red buttons down its chest, "And this is Frigimon. He's a Champion type. That's higher than a Rookie."

"A Champion type?" Yamaki then made a quick, wild guess, connecting two and two, "He's a Digimon, right?"

"Yup!" Junko looked delighted. She was probably used to blank stares and now was more than a little surprised when someone appeared to understand what she was talking about, "Digimon're fun, so I draw 'em all the time."

Yamaki began to gently bounce the six year-old on his knees, listening to her giggles in response, "I heard you like the game. Are these your favorites?"

"…yeah…but…" Junko leaned close, holding onto her uncle with one hand as she reached over with another, searching through the mass of pencil and crayon drawings. She held up another picture, this one of a dark creature with, (strangely enough) a toothy smiley face on its stomach, "He's my favorite. I like 'em all, but he's the _best_."

Yamaki regarded the picture. The legs looked a little deformed, and the black and purple crayon coloring went out of the sketchy lines everywhere (except for the little scarlet scarf), but overall, it looked pretty good. The Digimon was standing in the center of the page on his two thin hind legs, leaning a bit to the left (he was drawn lopsided) as he made a silent, exaggerated growling expression, pale green eyes staring at him from the paper, "What's he called? He looks almost like a little puppy."

Junko hugged the picture to her chest, "Impmon!" She then proceeded to rattle off his stats in a sing-song voice, "Rookie, virus-type, small Demon Digimon, Attacks: Badda Boom and Summon; Impmon's the greatest of them all! He's funny. And smart…and…and…" she trailed off, trying to find more words to describe the Digimon.

Eiji set down the bowls of broth before them, laughing, "Impmon's all you talk about these days. What about the others? You used to like that dinosaur one a lot."

"Agumon," his daughter supplied as she was shifted to Yamaki's other knee in order to clear the way for her father. "Impmon's better 'cause he's got more per…p…pers…"

Eiji noticed Junko's trouble with the word, "Personality?"

"Yeah…he's got more per-son-ali-idy," Junko declared, carefully imitating her father. Yamaki held her balanced on his knee as she began to slurp the broth, too preoccupied to talk any longer.

Yamaki kept silent, watching in amusement as the young girl ate. She was quiet once again, bending over the large bowl. Several times he had to pull her braids back from dipping into her food, though she didn't appear to notice the near misses or the saves. He forgot how much he enjoyed being in this family's company, even if it was only for a little while. With them, he was simply too distracted to brood over his own problems and it was easy to fool himself that there was nothing wrong.

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_Several hours later_

Junko and Yamaki waved as the car disappeared from view, rounding the corner. He dropped his arm as soon as he lost sight of it, his niece continuing to pump her arm in the air for a few more seconds. With a giggling, mischievous grin, she turned around, and took his larger hand in her smaller one.

"Well, it looks like it's just the two of us, Jun-Jun."

Junko began heading toward the house, tugging her young uncle after her, "Good! No more mean Shin!"

Yamaki followed. He quickly stooped down and swept his niece onto his shoulder.

"First of all, sweetheart, your parents and Shin are only going to be gone a few days. They're coming back. Second, you really shouldn't say things you don't mean. You're going to hurt someone's feelings."

Junko frowned rebelliously, "I don't care! He's always taking my stuff and he's…he's…he's _mean_!" The young girl ended, her lower lip jutting out in the tiniest of pouts.

"He's still your brother," Yamaki said. "If he wasn't here, who would you play with? I'd think you'd be very bored living here by yourself."

"I'd play with Impmon, of course," Junko replied.

Yamaki glanced at his niece, sighing. She didn't seem to be getting his point at all, "I'm talking about real people here, Jun-Jun."

This comment earned him a gentle poke in the side of his head.

"Impmon's real."

"Not in the same way Shin is," Yamaki countered. Junko was young, he wasn't surprised she had become infatuated with a character from a game. He was going to have to explain the differences between real and not-real sometime, but in such a way that he wouldn't dash her feelings into the ground after shooting them from the sky. "The thing is, Shin's always going to be with you. He's not mean to you _all_ the time, is he?"

"…No…" Junko answered reluctantly.

"Besides, everyone fights over stuff," the two entered the house, Yamaki closing the door behind him and slipping out of his shoes. He held up his hand for Junko's. "Your Dad and I always used to fight." He stooped down carefully and set the two pairs of shoes on the threshold.

"Shin's a meanie," Junko said stubbornly. "He _broke_ my phone - "

" - Toy phones can be replaced, sweetheart."

" – and he hurt Impmon 'cause we got in a fight! I think he's still mad at us."

Yamaki was lost now. He had been convinced up till this point that he'd comfortably in control of the conversation. _Does she really think Impmon's real?_ He hoped she wasn't _really_ convinced this Digimon was real; because he knew sooner or later she was going to be confronted by a truth she wasn't going to like.

"Jun-Jun." Yamaki began gently, turning his head so he could see her. His niece looked up at him. Yamaki faltered. Was this in his right? He was only her uncle, and at that one who rarely visited her. After all, what was wrong with using your imagination while you still had it? You practically lost the damned thing when you were an adult, so…

He decided a change of tactics was in order, "Jun-Jun, why don't you tell me about this Digimon?"

Junko perked up.

"Y'mean Impmon?" she asked. At his nod, the young girl glowed. "He's small and purple with fur. He's got these funny little red gloves, and we gave him this bandana, so he wears it around his neck, and he's great and he says the funniest things –"

"Says? You can hear him?"

Junko shot him a Look, as if the very idea she couldn't was silly. "'Course I can hear him. He's smart, so he talks."

"Really."

His niece squirmed rebelliously on her perch until her uncle removed her from his shoulders and let her down. Junko crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to block the hallway with her small frame. Yamaki stopped in his tracks.

"You don't think he's real!" she said.

Yamaki sighed again and crouched down so that he was eye-to-eye with her, "I never said that."

"Impmon _is_ real! I can prove it!" With that, Junko grabbed his hand and began leading him through the hall. Yamaki didn't attempt to resist her pull. He really couldn't imagine what she was going to show him – a favorite stuffed animal, maybe? – and he had to wonder what he was going to say.

Junko resolutely ploughed down the hall. She ignored the toys scattered on the floor by either going around them or stepping over the clutter. Junko continued down the hall, turning at the last door – her room – and halted in her tracks, stopping the two of them before the closed bedroom.

The six year-old narrowed her eyes up at him. "You gotta promise first 'fore you can meet him."

"Promise what?" Yamaki asked.

"Promise that you're not gonna tell Mommy and Daddy about him. Don't tell anyone."

Yamaki wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. As a general rule, when a kid said something was to be kept from their parents, chances were that whatever _it_ was, it was something those said adults weren't going to like. _What would a six year-old have that's dangerous?_ He knew Junko far better than that. Although she had have some arguments with her brother, she was pretty peaceful and as far as he knew, she never got in a fight at school.

"I promise."

Junko fixed him with a stern stare. "Promise promise?" She held out her small pinky, curved in a little hook. Yamaki stooped down and linked hers with his. She shook it.

Yamaki disengaged his hand from his niece's, who looked satisfied now that she had his "official" word he would keep his promise.

"Okay, now that you promised, I'll show you to Impmon."

"Alright."

Junko laid her hand on the doorknob and, almost furtively, opened it, glancing around the door as she entered her bedroom. An opened window allowed fresh air and sunlight in. His niece stopped in the middle of the room, frowning. Yamaki came up behind her as the young girl began searching the room frantically.

"He's gone?" Yamaki managed to keep his skepticism to a minimum.

"Yeah." Although he doubted Impmon was little more than a toy, the panic starting to rise in Junko's voice was very real. "I…I hafta find him…he…"

Yamaki watched as she pawed through her closet. Several stuffed animals rolled out, bounced, and lay silent on the floor. His niece refused to give up, bouncing onto her bed (she nearly tripped when she entangled herself in the sheets), Junko leaned haphazardly out the window. A squeal of relief.

"_Impmon_!" Junko pulled herself up, holding something in her arms. For a few seconds, her head bent and she whispered something he didn't catch.

"I take it you found him, Jun-Jun?"

"Yeah." Junko turned around, nodding at what she held in his arms as she turned around on the bed to face him. "Uncle Yama, this is Impmon. Impmon, this is Uncle Yama."

_It's a stuffed animal_, was Yamaki's first thought. Sure, a large, elaborate one, but definitely a stuffed animal. It was a spitting image of the drawing that his niece had presented him earlier, though the puppy-like face was frozen in a neutral expression instead of the deep scowl that had been scrawled on the wrinkled paper. Junko glanced in confusion from her uncle to the Digimon toy she held in her arms.

"I don't get it…" Confused, Junko poked at the stuffed animal. "C'mon, Impmon, say hi to Uncle Yama. He's really nice and he knows about Digimon, so you can talk now."

No reaction from the Impmon toy. The eyes merely glittered.

Junko prodded and pleaded and pouted. No matter what she did, the reaction was the same. Nothing. The six-year old was growing more flustered and embarrassed as the minutes ticked by and her efforts to get the Digimon to talk failed over and over.

Yamaki stopped down so that he was at eye level with Junko, "Maybe he doesn't want to talk right now."

Junko tried to suppress a sniffle. "You believe me? Impmon can talk, but he isn't and I don't know why…" She trailed off helplessly.

Yamaki decided it was wiser to dodge the question altogether.

"Hey, I have an idea, sweetheart. How about I go make us some popcorn and all three of us can watch a movie together?" He smiled winningly at her: it made him feel like an absolute jackass when Junko fought back a final sniff and tried valiantly to return the expression. "He's just shy, I bet."

"I guess."

"Why don't you go pick a movie?"

"Okay." Junko fled the room, Impmon with her. It looked like a tornado had her room. One day here and he was already picking up toys. Yamaki stooped down every now and then to pick up a toy or a stuffed animal and replacing them on a shelf or in a drawer.

Maybe he should take her somewhere tomorrow, especially since they didn't have that much time together. Yamaki racked his brain. The closest place he could think of was West Shinjuku. There were streets of stores and restaurants there and he decided it was up to him to treat her to something special. A small grin. At this time of the year, it probably shouldn't be very crowded, which was perfectly fine with him. _It's been a long time since I've done anything fun with Junko._ Now that he thought about it, he realized he was looking forward to tomorrow.

After the failed introduction with her plush toy, Junko didn't bring up the subject of Impmon again. They watched the movie. By the time the credits began rolling, Junko decided she was fine with staying in the house for the day, as long as her uncle would play with her. The lazy afternoon was soon deepening into twilight when it occurred to Yamaki he was going to have to make dinner soon.

He eventually decided soba noodles and steamed fish would be a good idea. As Yamaki began taking inventory of the refrigerator and the pantry, his niece plopped herself down at the table to draw. He turned back to what he was doing, rummaging through the shelves for the ingredients. When he turned around, he nearly fell backward into the pantry with surprise as he abruptly found himself almost face-to-face with the Impmon toy presented to him by Junko.

"Can he watch you make dinner, Uncle Yama?"

"Sure, why not?" He fixed an eye on his niece. "But please _don't_ do that again – I almost got a heart attack."

Junko only snickered and patted him on the hand. It was clear she doubted he would be keeling over on her any time soon. "Sorry."

Yamaki carefully took the stuffed animal from his niece. To his surprise, it was a lot firmer than he'd thought. It almost felt like there were bones (plastic inserts, no doubt) underneath the lifelike fur. Huh. Yamaki shrugged mentally and put the Impmon toy near the cutting board, setting out the packages, along with an apple that he was intending to eat later. Turning around once again, he began searching through the refrigerator for the fish. Pulling it out, he glanced over his shoulder at the cutting board.

The apple he'd put down for himself was gone.

Yamaki blinked, confused, glancing over at Junko. His niece was busy drawing. There was no way she could've gotten up in the few minutes that he had his back to her and eaten the apple – he would have heard her anyway. Yamaki approached the counter. His confusion only increased when he found half of the fruit's core next to Impmon.

Could…? No, that was just plain stupid. Now he was imagining things.

Yamaki couldn't help but glance suspiciously at the Impmon toy every now and then. The eyes gleamed mischievously back at him. His niece joined him in setting the table. She insisted he set out another bowl for Impmon – despite his misgivings, he did as she said.

Junko jumped into the chair, looking over the steaming rim of her bowl at her uncle:

"Smells yummy!"

A grin. "Probably because it is."

His niece only pretended to roll her eyes at this statement of the obvious and picked up her spoon.

"About Impmon, how long have you had him?"

Junko shrugged. "Two weeks, I guess."

"You don't know?" He raised an eyebrow at this. "How'd you get him?"

"I really dunno." Junko said. "Actually, I know _how_. Not _why_." She eyed the chunk of fish balanced in her spoon, wondering if she could fit the whole thing in her mouth. "He just appeared one day."

Didn't sound like his brother to go in with the secret toys like that. Eiji tended to just charge in headfirst – if he had something to give – and gave it face-to-face. No, that was something Yawara would do.

After the dinner, he tried to shoo Junko away so he could clean up, but his niece stubbornly insisted on helping him out (she wanted to do the dishes). At first, he was a little leery at the idea – he greatly suspected that she was going to just play with the soap bubbles than focus on the actually cleaning. Still, he never could resist spoiling his niece rotten. He'd buy more soap if he had ot.

Yamaki touched Junko's shoulder. "I'm going to make sure all the doors are locked. I'll be right back, okay?"

His niece didn't answer. She was too busy making a soap castle.

Yamaki left the room. His brother's family lived in a pretty safe neighborhood. Yamaki knew he'd personally feel better if he checked, just to make sure, anyway. Old habit. Maybe he was just being paranoid though. _I mean, what can possibly happen in two days?_

He checked the front door and began to work his way toward the back of the house, making sure the windows that were open weren't gaping invitations, and the toys that eft out earlier were picked up so he wouldn't trip over them later. He'd just finished with cleaning up, and was moving onto Yawara and Eiji's room, when he happened to look up from his work and noticed that the door to Junko's bedroom was open.

_Didn't Junko close it?_ He might as well go check if her windows were locked, Yamaki told himself as he headed down the hallway. He passed the kitchen on his way, his step slowing as he glanced in. Junko was just as busy as she had been when he'd left, however, it _did_ look like she tried to make a dent in the dirty dishes, because it appeared some of them were stacked on a rack nearby.

He was almost at it Junko's when he noticed the stuffed animal sitting a few feet away from the open door.

_What the hell? _Now how had Impmon gotten out here? Yamaki shook his head as he stooped down in the darkness. "Now what are _you_ doing out here? You should be in Jun-Jun's room," he told it as he picked the toy up.

No response. The eyes only gazed back at him with a silent, knowing stare.

Junko probably dropped him when she left her room. Toys didn't start running around on their own after all. Still shaking his head, Yamaki set the Digimon on Junko's bed.

"Stay put," he ordered the silent toy, half-joking.

With that done, Yamaki left the room and quietly closed the door shut behind him. He didn't see the stuffed animal shift from its position and leap down from the bed, nor did he see the door open noiselessly behind him. It was one mistake, out of many, that he would deeply regret a few days later. Perhaps, if he had been more careful and trusting, he would have been more prepared...

If he had looked, and _seen_ for himself, Yamaki might have saved her.

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_Sunday, 9:36 AM_

Yamaki glanced at his watch: the minute hand had barely moved since the last time he checked. The blond grimaced. _A few more minutes_. Seriously, Yamaki didn't understand why it took people so long to get ready. _Especially women_. In his experience, they took absolutely forever to leave the house. He supposed it was always for the better, because whatever it was that took them so long also made sure that they were ready for almost anything.

Junko came tramping into the corridor with her ear muffs dangling from her fingers, Impmon clasped in her other hand. She was dressed in relatively warm clothing: a knitted black sweater that allowed her pleated skirt to show.

"Are we taking the train, Uncle Yama?"

"It might be pretty crowded on the cars, so I want you to hold my hand until we get off at our stop, okay?"

" 'Kay!" Junko bounced to her feet, taking his hand in hers. "Done."

Yamaki locked the door behind them as his niece stared up at the dismal sky. Clouds overhead were thickening, in some places turning an ugly black, swelling like a large collection of large, purpling bruises. He pocketed the key in the depths of his coat, turning toward his niece. She was all smiles as she hugged Impmon to her chest.

"D'you think it's gonna snow? Oh, I hope it does!" Junko giggled. She swung their hands cheerfully as she bent her head down to plant a kiss on Impmon's head. "'Cause I _like_ snow and this is Impmon's first winter here, y'know. So I want him to see it and stuff!"

"The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if it did snow." Yamaki returned his niece's grin as they headed for the subway station.

The trip to the subway station was uneventful. Yamaki frowned when they arrived onto the crowded platform. True, the subway was always crowded, but he didn't feel comfortable with all these people around his niece. Not all of them looked like they were going to work or shop and his eyes easily picked out the potential trouble-makers. He told himself he was just being over-protective, but his unease didn't seem to be going away. His grip on her hand had tightened unconsciously. Junko squirmed at this, making a pained face up at him.

"Uncle Yama, you're hurting me," she said, pouting.

"I'm sorry." Yamaki hastily loosened his death grip.

He should be more careful. Precaution was what mattered, not paranoia, he admonished himself sharply. He was just jumping at non-existent threats for no reason.

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_Sunday, 9:45 AM_

To Junko's credit, she held on tightly to Yamaki's hand as they got onto the train. It was a tight fit, and he was shoved face-to-face with a middle-aged man. He did his best not to stare at other's bushy beard, avoiding direct eye contact. It was something he took for granted: whenever you were on the bus/train/subway/etc, it was a rule of thumb not to stare at people, mostly because it got rather awkward staring into one another person's eyes for who knew how long when they were only a few inches away.

But that didn't mean Junko had the same issues. She looked around at everyone's waists with the same open curiosity, her head craning up as she looked at the adults crowding around her, hugging Impmon to her chest.

Yamaki glanced at his watch. Still a while to go before they go to their destination…

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_Sunday, 10:02 AM_

"Next stop, West Shinjuku." The message was repeated over, first in Japanese and then in the strange, alien babble that he supposed was English. And then in Japanese again. "Next stop, West Shinjuku."

Yamaki started trying to push his way toward the doors, cursing quietly under his breath as the wall of people resisted him. The bearded man seemed to have the most trouble getting out of the way: he fiddled with his glasses, scrunched up his painfully normal face, and made a general nuisance of himself as he bungled around, mumbling apologies. He, Yamaki noticed with growing irritation, only seemed to place himself right in the middle of his path, blocking his way.

"We have arrived at West Shinjuku," the voice on the intercom noted. "Please exit the car when the train comes to a complete stop."

Over the passenger's heads, Yamaki could see the doors slide open, could see the platform on the other side, tantalizingly close. No matter what he did, the bearded man was in his way and he could only watch, annoyed, as the doors closed on him. Yamaki glared at the other passenger, who bobbed and nervously shoving his glasses up his face.

Junko tugged on his sleeve, trying to get his attention. He bent down until he was at eye-level with his niece, as the train lurched forward again.

"Are we in trouble?" Junko asked in a whisper.

Yamaki shook his head, keeping his voice low. "No, we'll just get off at the next stop." This was the first time this happened to him and he was appalled at how overcrowded it was today. He thought he knew where the next stop was, but it was a ways to go and seeing as he hadn't rented a car, he didn't have any other ways of getting there. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."

He began pushing his way forward. He gave up trying to be polite about the whole damn thing. Manners hadn't helped him and when that didn't, there was always the more effective method: brute force. He put his elbows in full use – when they were needed – and, ignoring the angry glares and the frowns from the other passengers, he eventually forced his way to the door. The next stop was announced just as Yamaki and Junko got to the side: the bearded man vanished in the crowd and Yamaki could see no sign of him. It had been the guy's fault that they'd missed his stop. _Thanks, genius._

The train slid to a halt. Surprisingly enough, the platform outside was empty and they were the only ones to leave the train. The train began to pull away as Junko looked up at her uncle, at first glancing around at the abandoned platform.

Junko gulped timidly. "Um…are you mad at me, Uncle Yama?"

"No way. I couldn't be mad at you." He smiled encouragingly at his niece. "It's _people_ that make me mad, Jun-Jun. Not you." He patted her hand reassuringly, and gestured toward the stairs leading to the surface. "Okay, I guess we'd better get started. We missed our stop, so we might have to either walk or find a taxi."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Sunday, 10:16 PM_

Junko scowled. "I bet that mean man did it on purpose."

"I don't see why he would."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Sunday, 10:17 AM_

Junko traded Impmon to another arm as she took Yamaki's hand in hers. They began climbing up the stairs, leaving the darkness of the empty platform and heading to the surface.

For a moment, Yamaki stopped in his tracks. This was weird – this place wasn't familiar at all, and it was even more strange because he thought he knew this area. But he recognized none of the buildings, and there were no landmarks (well, except for the Shinjuku Highrise building he could see far in the distance) that would prove to be of any help. _This isn't the stop I thought it was._ The thing was, he knew he hadn't heard wrong. But how could he explain this? _What the hell is going on?_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Sunday, 10:21 AM_

Another tug on his hand.

"A-are we lost?" Junko noticed as well something was wrong. It was weird there didn't seem to be a living soul out on the streets besides them. Cars were parked along the sidewalks, but where was everyone? It was getting spooky. There were a hundred of reasons that could explain the lack of people, where everyone might have gone, he decided.

Yamaki shaded his eyes, glancing down the street. "Might be, but I think we should be able to find our way." Overhead, the sky continued to darken threateningly. Yamaki sighed. _I guess we'd better start going before it gets any later._ He didn't expect to have to walk the entire way to their destination, but maybe he'd have better luck finding a bus or something further else down the road.

Besides, he thought he saw some heavy fog rolling in.

A smile. "Come on, let's go, Junko."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Day Unknown, Time Unknown_

Yamaki wasn't sure what it was dragging him awake.

For some reason it was hard to think straight and he realized, after a dazed pause, that he'd been drugged. Whatever it was, it was wearing off now and pain stared to return as he slid away from the black depths of unconsciousness. Yamaki became aware of the little details. He was lying down on an unfamiliar bed. Drugged. Wounded, in several places. A long strip of gauze was wrapped around his head and covering his eyes. More bandages were on his arms and shoulder. His breathing was even as he listened to the mechanical beeps of machinery.

He wasn't alone.

Whoever stood above him took a seat next to his bed as Yamaki Asamiya turned his head blindly toward where he thought the person was. An older man's voice cleared his throat above the sounds of rustling papers.

"I see you're awake." A low sigh. "Please, try not to move around too much, Mr. Asamiya – you've been through a lot. You're very lucky, you know."

Yamaki's mouth turned down in a silent frown. What was going on? Why was he here? "Here" obviously being a hospital. Something in the back of his mind was nagging at him, saying something wasn't _right_ with this picture. Despite the man's – Yamaki assumed he was a doctor of some sort – order, he automatically started to raise his hand toward his face. Before he could touch the bandages blocking his vision, his arm was gently, but firmly forced back down onto the thin sheets. Yamaki opened his mouth and was considerably surprised to find his voice came out raw and hoarse, broken as if he'd been screaming for hours or something. He tried again, this time with a bit more success:

"Where…where am I?"

The doctor wrote something down on what was probably a clipboard. "The hospital." Another _a-heming_ sound as he cleared his throat again. "How do you feel? Can you move the fingers of your left hand?"

Yamaki did so, wincing as the movement brought a ripple of pain up his arm. The man asked him to turn his head from left to right: did it hurt? Yes it did, and he would be under watch because of that concussion. Could he please move his legs a little bit? He did so. What about his chest – did his heart hurt or anything? No. His arms? Yeah. That was to be expected – it would be a few days before it would die down. Okay. And his eyes? Could he open and close them? Yeah.

One more question: did he remember anything before this?

Yeah, but it was a bit fuzzy at the moment. Well, he shouldn't worry about it right now. Yamaki was silent for a moment as the interrogation came to an end for the time being, the doctor falling quiet as he wrote something down.

Yamaki tried another question. "What happened? Why can't I see?"

The doctor ignored his first inquiry. "In the…ah, condition you were found in, your eyesight was partially damaged. Among other things." A noise beside him as something was set down on what he guessed was an end table. "We've done what we can, but you'll have to keep the bandages on for a few days more. Any further exposure to bright lights – or light of any kind – may result in more permanent damage."

"Are you saying that I'm…?

"That you're blind at the moment?" The doctor finished for his patient. "Yes. The blindness should be temporary, but it could take several weeks to several months to regain full use of your eyes."

Yamaki turned his face away from the other man, his eyes open now under the bandages. What time was it? What day was today, for that matter? There were so many questions that he had – petty ones, important ones, irrelevant ones – and, for some reason, he was unable to sort his priorities out. Yamaki's initial unease only grew as the minutes ticked by. And his body – it _hurt_ all over, the dull, buzzing pain blazing up whenever he moved and giving the darkness he was bathed in a sort of strange red "color".

"It's now 7:20 PM," the man's voice continued. "You've been under sedation for two days." A pause, and then the voice went on to clarify this. "Today is Tuesday, December 4." More scratching on paper, the gravely voice reading out loud what he was most likely jotting down on his clipboard. "Patient Yamaki Asamiya. Age twenty-five –"

Yamaki cut him off incredulously. "Wait, today's _Tuesday_?" In his growing panic, he started to sit quickly sit up, but was forced down again, this time not as gently as before. The act of moving so quickly left him light-headed and dizzy with pain.

"Please, Mr. Asamiya. I don't like being harsh, but if you keep moving around, you _will_ aggravate your injuries. Please don't make me have to restrain you."

"What happened? What am I doing here?" No answer. From the sounds of it, the doctor was getting up to leave. A chair scooted back, the legs scrapping against the floor. Yamaki could sense the other pushing himself up from his seat.

"I'll have a nurse turn on the TV for you later tonight. I'm sure they'll have a news report for you to listen to."

_Wait, don't go! _But Yamaki was suddenly _tired_, drained beyond belief. His body alternated from being frighteningly numb to twisting with the agony that danced along his limbs and clutched at his temples. The doctor opened a door somewhere. Yamaki's head lolled to the side as he tried to gather his fragmented thoughts together. He was forgetting something. No…not something. _Someone_.

Someone was missing. But his mind didn't seem to be clicking and it was working at a snail's pace. _Someone_…the doctor was almost out of the room when a hoarse shout rose up weakly from the bed.

"Wait, what about Junko? Where's my niece!?"

Click.

The doctor was gone. He was alone.

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_Sunday, 10:32 AM_

At first Yamaki hadn't thought much of the fog rolling in.

The mist grew thicker as they walked down the sidewalk. At first it had been at knee height and he had been so preoccupied he hadn't noticed it got higher until Junko started complaining her eyes were starting to hurt. She rubbed at them with the back of her hand, pawing at them as the tendrils of mist rose like dense steam around them. Yamaki stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed the involuntary tears starting to form, sliding a damp trail his niece's cheek as she at her eyes.

"Did you get something in them?"

Junko shook her head. "N-no…" The fog surrounded them now, growing thicker by the minute.

Eventually Yamaki started to feel the same symptoms. At first, it was just a vague irritation, but it grew worse and soon he was tearing furiously himself. He glanced at Junko as tears welled in his own eyes. For some reason, she was perfectly fine now, dry-eyed as she looked up at her uncle. As he glanced about the misty street with blurring vision, he didn't see the Impmon toy in his niece's arm move, didn't see it turn its head to where the fog was thickest.

It started to occur to Yamaki this fog wasn't natural.

The fog surrounded them now, and it was only getting denser. After a few yards away, everything disappeared into the mist. Something, some nearly forgotten instinct, was telling him to back away, to get away from this area. Quickly. _Now_.

Something was coming.

Junko sensed it too – the same animal instinct was warning her this was a _Bad Place_. She made no protest when he took her hand in his and began backing away from the fog, where it was getting so thick that it had turned a milky opaque color. The need to get away was growing stronger and stronger, his alarm becoming very real to him. Another step backward. And another. They quickened. He had turned tail and started jogging, throwing glances over his shoulder as he tugged his niece after him. Pretty soon they were running.

They never made it out of the field of fog.

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_Tuesday, Time Unknown_

"-Yamaki Asamiya?"

"He's resting right now, sir."

"Tell. Me. What. _Happened_!? Where's my daughter?! Why can't I see her?!"

Yamaki drowsily opened one eye against the gauze of his bandages. Although he couldn't see, he could certainly hear the voices outside of the room, just beyond the paper-thin walls. Stark terror welled up in him as he recognized them. A man's voice spoke up again, followed by that of a woman's. Someone was crying. Eiji was choking up in grief as he asked another question, demanded some answers. Whoever else was with the couple said something too low for Yamaki to catch, but he was swimming in shame and deepening depression as he lay motionless in his bed.

They were here. And they knew now.

_ She's dead…isn't she…?_

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_Sunday, 10: 40 AM_

Something was coming…

It was almost here.

They ran.

The foggy air was heavy as their footsteps pounded on the sidewalk, echoing back at them as if walls were forming around them. Yamaki found no time to think, his breath racing as he ran at full tilt through the thick fog. Junko stumbled behind him.

It was only years later Yamaki would learn this phenomenon was the act of a Digimon bio-emerging into the Real World. All he knew at the time was the inhuman roar that suddenly split through the blinding fog was bloodcurdling. The noise rent through the air, so deafening Yamaki clapped his hands to his ears in a futile effort to drown it out. His niece yelped in pain, covering her own ears.

It was then that the stuffed animal in Junko's arm came alive.

Yamaki thought he was seeing things. This _couldn't_ be real, this had to be some sort of trick! Impmon jumped down from his niece's arms, had done it of his own free will. His large, pale eyes turned up to glance at the humans behind him. He was real. And very much alive. Impmon assumed a defensive stance, standing protectively in front of Yamaki and Junko.

He had no choice but to accept this Digimon-are-real development. Still, he couldn't help a surprised start when the toy opened its mouth and actually _spoke_.

"It's another Digimon," A cocky, fanged grin at Junko. "Don't worry yer pretty little head. I got it all under control." The smile vanished as Impmon turned serious. "I'll try to fight 'im off, Junko, delay 'im a bit: I'll tell you two when to run."

Yamaki swallowed his bitter shock. Junko nodded, biting her lip in an effort to hide her rather obvious fear.

"Junko, I'm gonna need you t' take out yer Digivice. This ain't a game anymore." Impmon's posture stiffened, fur bristling as he scanned the fog around them. Junko pulled something out of the small backpack she'd brought with her. It was about the size of a beeper, the symmetrical casing a light brown. The Digivice's screen glowed a neutral green as it nestled in her palm. "Push the button on the lower right-hand corner."

Although Impmon had his back turned to the humans, Yamaki could see his dark shoulders droop slightly as he scanned the area in front of them. It was obvious to Yamaki he'd just gotten some bad news. But Impmon didn't let this show to Junko, instead giving an almost disdainful snort.

"Musyamon, Champion level. Violent Dismissal and White Bird Blade." Impmon cracked the knuckles of his gloved paws, trying to appear nonchalant. Yamaki wasn't fooled. "Piece o' cake."

It was at the end of the Rookie's little speech the heavy footsteps of something approaching them became audible. Armor clanked hollowly against itself as a shadow began to materialize in the haze. Yamaki kept his own body between his niece and whatever was coming after them, backing away a few paces. He glanced down at his niece, ignoring the way his heart was pounding frantically with adrenaline – Junko held onto his coat, her small fingers clamped with a death-grip on him. They both could feel the "it" coming, a dark, dizzying wave sweeping over them.

The Thing came into view, emerging from the haze. Yamaki sucked in a breath of horror. It was a monster. Standing several feet taller than Yamaki, Musyamon towered over everyone. The creature – the young man could only assume this was a Digimon as well – walking steadily toward them on its hind-legs, the gray face set low on its bulging ashy neck. The burnt yellow eyes regarded the three. Its red plates of armor rattled as it closed the distance between them, the samurai helmet's tassel limp in the still air.

When it was merely several yards away, the monster stopped, sizing the group up slowly.

"So you're the ones that escaped," Musyamon drew his blade with a smooth motion, the weapon exiting its sheath with a hungry hiss. A gravelly rumble as the Digimon's eyes flicked from Yamaki to Junko and finally to Impmon. "I thought there was only eight humans."

"There _were_ eight," Impmon spat murderously. "Why can't you leave us alone?"

"Orders are orders. If you hadn't come here, your lives would have both been spared." The point of the saber flicked from Junko to Impmon. Musyamon lowered his keen blade into a "ready" stance. "I will give you a minute to prepare yourselves for an honorable deletion."

Junko's grip on Yamaki's coat tightened. Yamaki laid his hand on hers – true, it was a feeble gesture of comfort, but there was little else he could do – and making sure that he stood between the monster and his niece. The Digimon across from them was as still as stone, but the unnatural golden eyes were still fixed on them, hooded under large lids. Impmon was the first to make any movement: he stepped angrily forward, his paws curling into tight fists as he glared up at Musyamon.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt them! Y'think I'm gonna sit around and let myself be deleted?!" Impmon shouted, his voice coloring with fury. "I won't let you take Junko away from me!"

Musyamon lowered his head in acceptance. "So you desire to put up a fight then?"

"Damn straight I do! You're gonna have t'get past me first!"

"Very well." Taking his time, the Champion shed his cloak of fur, tossing aside the sheath of his massive sword. It clattered loudly onto the abandoned street as he took a two-handed grip on the hilt of his saber. "Fight honorably and I will make your elimination painless. If you prove yourself to me, then I will gladly offer my humble services and upload your data myself."

An angry snarl, "We'll see 'bout that." Impmon glanced over his shoulder at Junko, then at her uncle. His eyes met Yamaki's. "I'd get back if I were you. It's gonna get messy an' I don't wanna see either of you get hurt. If I can hold 'im off long enough, you might be able t'get out of the digital field."

Yamaki nodded, trying to keep steady. He didn't have any weapons and there was only so much he could do with his bare hands. Considering the fact he was new to this whole thing regarding Digimon, he wasn't about to question the advice. Impmon's remark, however, only brought a gurgling laugh as the Champion stared down the length of his blade at the group before him.

"Even if they escape, I will seek out the girl." The laughter died down as Musyamon's eyes narrowed. "I will keep coming until the threat has been disposed of. The most you can do is make this a battle worth remembering." A salute with the saber. His stance shifted. "My mission comes to a close."

With no warning, he charged.

"_Bada Boom!_"

"_Violent Dismissal!_"

**End of Part One - to be continued**

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	8. Side Story Yamaki Mitsuo: Blind Eye, Par...

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own Digimon, don't profit from this fic.  
**Author's Note**: Names were changed because I initially wrote this before I knew the names for Impmon's Tamers in canon. Junko and Shin are intended to be Ai and Mako.

This is the first of the Side Stories for side characters whose separate stories will have an impact or be referred to in the larger story. This one will serve to give the Digital Shuffle version for why Yamaki is so hell-bent on deleting all Digimon, his vendetta against Musyamon. No Takato, Jenrya, Ruki, Hypnos, Kincaid or Kaminmon. **Yamaki focused, pre-Hypnos**, **four years before the start of Digimon Tamers.**

_Italics_ for thoughts, emphasis, sounds effects  
**PG-13** for language and some violence  
**Archive**: Sure, knock yourself out. Just ask me before you do.

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Side Story: Yamaki Mitsuo– Blind Eyes  
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_Tuesday, Time Unknown_

At some point Yamaki must've fallen asleep. More sedatives, he guessed. He didn't have any dreams: just an endless gaping tunnel of nothing. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but when he began to fight his way back to consciousness, he almost jumped out of his skin when he realized he wasn't alone.

Someone was holding his hand. His eyes flared open uselessly against the bandages. Yamaki was wide-awake now, and he listened pensively to the voices around him. There was one, no, _two_ people in the room, but one was preparing to go.

" – but I'm sure he's still asleep."

The fingers holding his hand shifted, absentmindedly stroking the back of his wrist. This speaker was quiet, subdued. His reply was broken. "It…it's alright. I won't wake him up."

With a sinking feeling, Yamaki recognized the voice, even though his brain was moving at a sluggish pace. _Eiji_.

So his brother was here. He hadn't been hearing things, like he'd hoped. Eiji was here, which meant Yawara and Shin were as well. From the sounds of the conversation above him, Eiji had been at the hospital since yesterday. They had come back early, they came back to find everything had gone all _wrong_, everything had gone straight to hell.

_ This, all of this…is my fault._

"I'm sorry we couldn't allow you to see him earlier. But it was important he get more rest."

"How is he?"

The unfamiliar masculine voice of the nurse (orderly?) was moving away. Someone drew the blinds, closing them with a _shush _of wood slats. "The doctor expects him to pull through. He should be fine, but he lost a lot of blood. He'll need at least a week, at minimum, to recuperate. The accident damaged his vision."

_Accident?_ Yamaki's mind was moving slowly, but it growled at this, this blatant lie. What happened had been no accident.

"He's blind?" Eiji's voice sounded dazed. From the way his brother paused, Yamaki could almost hear the thought wandering around for a place to connect to. Yamaki could feel his brother's fingers go slightly slack around his as the realization finally sank in.

"Yes." The nurse heaved a sigh. "I don't like being the bearer of bad news, but…"

"Is it going to be permanent?"

Footsteps, soft footsteps, padded across the hard floor. "No. Like I said, he'll be fine." A deliberating hesitation. "I'm going to leave you two alone, if that's alright." A pause, as if waiting for a nod. "Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes. If you need any assistance, press the button."

No answer from his brother, just an inaudible grunt. The nurse left the hospital room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two brothers together. Yamaki closed his useless eyes. It hurt so much to cry that he found he couldn't.

"I came as soon as I heard the news." Eiji said quietly. He didn't appear to realize his audience was awake and listening as he continued, his words disjointed. "I'm sure that you're probably kicking yourself for this..."

Eiji swallowed._  
_

"…but it was an accident. You…you couldn't have done anything to…prevent it."

Yamaki kept silent. Junko wasn't _gone_, she'd gotten away from that monster. Hadn't she? He racked his brain, his breath almost catching in fright as he realized he couldn't remember. His blood ran cold as he tried harder to reach into his memory's eye, coming up with nothing each time. A few fragments of sounds, of garbled words and flashes of imagery. His need to know tore at him. Yamaki remembered up to the point where Musyamon attacked. _But what happened next? _

"I talked with the police. They'll be releasing their press report tonight."

So then he would find out what happened? No, something wasn't adding up. He didn't care what they said: what about Junko? His niece was far more important. He remembered seeing her face. The burning tears simmered again but didn't fall.

It wasn't possible.

It didn't explain the holes he encountered whenever he tried to recall what had happened. This wasn't amnesia, not on any level. It felt too specific, to narrow, to be anything else. But whatever (or whoever) it'd been, they hadn't been very clean or thorough about it, because he knew somehow he would remember it all. But who would believe him? A blind man seeing monsters?

"- with Yawara. She…well, she doesn't _blame _you, but..." A shuddering pause. Eiji's voice wavered. "…I guess we just all have our own ways of dealing with these sorts of tragedies."

Another hand laid itself over Yamaki's. Eiji rested his forehead wearily on them. His brother had been crying recently. Yamaki could feel his moist cheeks, still wet with drying tears.

"She won't talk to me anymore. She won't talk to anyone. It's too soon. I don't think she trusts the accounts the witnesses gave."

Witnesses? This was all wrong.

"…I…guess I don't really trust them either, but they told me that…"

His brother continued to talk for a while longer, eventually falling silent as he held Yamaki's hand in his and sat there. After a while it was much easier just to not say anything at all. Yamaki mulled Eiji's words over slowly. The whole thing (what Yamaki could remember at the moment) seemed…well, for a lack of a better word, planned. Witnesses when he _knew_ there were none, his hacked-up memory, and the whole thing getting listed as an "accident". But what if it was true? What if he was just searching for excuses, for a scapegoat? It would be all for nothing then.

But all these suspicions had already struck a cord in him.

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_Sunday, 11:11 AM_

"_Summon_!"

Musyamon's saber flicked up casually. An expert twist of the wrist and the burst of fire deflected off the blade and into the pavement. The armored Champion was eerily silent as he fought with single-minded tenacity.

They had been fighting for a while and he still breathed easily, taking his time. The blade gleamed silver as the monster flipped the hilt around so he held it in a different grip. Impmon was already staggering doggedly out of the way as he swept the sword about in a broad arc, his muscled arm bulging with the effort.

"_Violent Dismissal_!"

Yamaki shielded Junko with his body as the attack hit the storefront several meters away. It exploded violently outward with a powder-fine shower of glass and brick, the white energy of the attack still winking. As soon as the blast subsided, Yamaki was already pulling his niece onto her feet and running again, half-carrying the her in his arms.

He glanced over his shoulder. Behind him, Impmon was lobbing a hurricane of fireballs at Musyamon. They had practically no effect, sparking out as soon as they came into contact with the monster's thick hide. The towering Digimon bunched his shoulders, well protected by his red armor and taking whatever Impmon threw at him.

Was he distracted? Would they get away?

_No_. Musyamon was suddenly looking straight at _him _with those burning amber eyes, completely ignoring Impmon for the moment. They wouldn't get away. Not as long as that monster was still moving. Despite how far he ran way from the battle, it always seemed to follow sucked in a shaking breath. Musyamon was making sure they wouldn't get away by bringing the fight to them.

Impmon was only a minor obstacle, nothing more.

"_Bada Boom_!"

"_Impmon_!" Junko started to cry, her hands reaching around Yamaki toward her partner. The six-year old squirmed in his arms. "H-he needs help!"

"_Violent Dismissal_!"

There was a buzzing whine behind Yamaki and some forgotten instinct dropped him quickly to his knees in a duck. Something rocketed over his head, singeing in its blistering heat as it passed harmlessly over the two. Yamaki rolled over painfully, getting to his feet as Junko tried to choke back her racking sobs. Not now. He couldn't stop running. Not until they were safe. Not until Junko was safe. He didn't care about himself.

"Hey, jerk, I'm over here!" Impmon bellowed at Musyamon. He revealed his tiny fangs in a snarl at his enemy, shaking his fist. "Stop attackin' them and fight _me_, you overgrown coward!"

For a second, Yamaki thought he saw annoyance cross the monster's face. But it was gone, instantly concealed as Musyamon turned. Before Impmon had any time to react, the Champion's stance abruptly shifted and he was upon his opponent in a flash. His sword crashed down. Impmon barely managed to dive away. He rolled onto his feet. A low slash of the blade forced Impmon to weave under the blow. The weapon clipped his ears as it suddenly reversed direction and came sweeping back.

Impmon was forced away from the two humans, his paws glowing an unearthly red as he went back a step. And then another.

"_Bada Boom_!"

Musyamon easily blocked the fireball with the flat of his blade. Tongues of fire licked around his saber as he twisted the pommel around to fit his grip again, starting to step forward. He was taken by surprise as Impmon immediately followed up with another attack.

For a moment, Impmon was _sure _he'd done some real damage. But that thought quickly died away as Musyamon shook his helmet, unharmed - save for a small, bloodless gash under his chin, he was unhurt. Impmon looked over helplessly at the two humans not too far away from where the two Digimon fought, the tall one was still getting to his feet. Impmon started to shout an order at them:

"Hurry up an–"

Yamaki looked up sharply as Impmon's voice cut off, Junko in his arms frozen in shock as she took in the sight before her. Impmon was suspended in the air by an invisible hand, squirming as Musyamon approached him. The tip of his sword, extended before him, was pointed at the other Digimon.W when it moved, the helpless Rookie bobbled in the air. A twitch of the blade and Impmon swayed in response. But the monster's attention was held, for the time being, as he turned to deal with his prisoner.

Again, Yamaki began to run, ignoring the way his legs trembled in protest under him and forcing his body stumbling forward. Junko was crying in his ear, something about turning back for Impmon.

They couldn't stop.

Yamaki glanced over his shoulder. Musyamon had reached Impmon, his mouth moving as he said something to the Digimon still held in his telekinetic grasp.

_ "Defeat has shown her smile on you. Accept it." _Not even worth the honor of deletion.

Without another word, Musyamon drew back his saber and struck. Junko wailed, her fingers digging into her uncle's arm as Musyamon swatted the Rookie away. The force of the blow sent Impmon flying and sailing to the side. His small body hit the ground with a _thud_ and slid out of view as the fog of the digital field closed in around them. Yamaki's teeth set. Impmon was gone, possibly dead, and he couldn't expect any more help from the Digimon. It was just him now. He was all that was left between his niece and that _monster_.

Musyamon was on their tail now, the armored beast moving much faster than Yamaki would've believed possible. He wasn't even out of breath from the battle, running easily after his prey with a loping gait. His own breaths rattling hollowly in the back of his throat, Yamaki forced himself to go faster. He was going to protect Junko, no matter the cost. His niece clung to him for dear life, her small face buried into his chest. The mist-shrouded storefronts swept past them as he ran.

"_Dismissal Blade_!"

Acting once again on his instincts, Yamaki dived to the right, falling onto his back to avoid injuring his niece. He hastily turned onto his side, curling up around Junko as he cringed at the deafening buzz. The loud whine screamed through the air as it shivered under the pure energy. Only a few feet away from him the pavement exploded into a smoking crater, sending chips of concrete zipping through the haze. Several cut into his back and nicking him through his coat. One came dangerously closing to taking out an eye, tearing a bleeding gash above his eyebrow.

Yamaki staggered to his feet, clasping his niece his body. Blood started to dribble into his eye.

Musyamon was still coming.

The figure of the Champion loomed above him, his gray face ghastly as it peered down at the humans through the cloud. For some reason, Musyamon was as still as stone, his huge saber resting on his shoulder as his acid-gaze fixed on them. Junko whimpered she peeked fearfully at Musyamon. Without the monster's attention on something else, both could feel the full force of his presence: his menacing aura alone was forcing Yamaki to take a step backward, the sense of pure _hatred _and the desire to kill.

With a feeling of horror, Yamaki watched as the large blade was lifted from its resting place, Musyamon taking a step forward. A smile revealed stumped, yellowed fangs.

"Twice I have sought to obliterate you from this plane of existence, and twice you have escaped my Violent Dismissal. You have good reflexes, human. It is almost commendable."

Yamaki said nothing.

"However, those alone won't save the little one." The hunched shoulders, rolling with thick bands of powerful muscle under the gray hide, straightened with a loud _pop _of tendons. Musyamon twisted his neck from side to side. "I suggest you leave the little one here: otherwise I will see to your death personally. If you desire to continue living, you will never return to this place. My advice to you, human, is to save yourself. "

Yamaki didn't pretend to know what was going on in that alien brain, just what Musyamon expected him to say, but what he said next clearly wasn't what the monster was waiting for. The Digimon's face was taken aback as he spoke up. It was a simple, brief reply, just one short word. But it spoke volumes:

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Musyamon hesitated, his eye ridges rising up in an almost human gesture. For a brief moment, he looked almost unsure of this, but he quickly regained his composure. "I will not give you another chance. You will find I am rarely so merciful." The sword tapped its point on the cracked surface of the pavement. "I see that you have no weapons, nor armor. You are defenseless, as is the little one. At this range, I will _not_ miss in striking the final blow. Why do you resist?"

Junko shivering with fear in Yamaki's arms. Yamaki was scared out of his wits – who _wouldn't_? – but he couldn't help but feel resolved to resist in any way he could. Maybe if he could keep the monster busy (if even for a few minutes), maybe Junko could get away. It was true he didn't have any weapons whatsoever, but as long as he kept a good distance between himself and that _thing_, he might be ably to buy some time.

A gravelly _why_. Why? Why, why, why?

Why? "Because that's the most I can do now."

A snort. It was the human's own decision to seal his fate then! If the piddling creature was going to regret it later, Musyamon wouldn't be held responsible. "Do you have any last words?"

"Not to you," Yamaki snapped back with far more bravery than he actually felt. Junko looked up at him, pleading silently for him to make it all go away, to make everything better. Yamaki tried to smile comfortingly at Junko. "I want you to run to the nearest police station, okay? Or anywhere with a lot of people; it doesn't matter. Just run as fast as you can."

Junko sniffled, clutching at him. He repeated it again – he had a feeling she wasn't absorbing the information. After the third time, she gave a dazed nod. Yes, she would run. To where? To a place with a lot of people, she stammered. Good. Don't stop until you're in a crowd: don't forget. You're a good girl, Jun-Jun. Now, please stop crying, you're going to have to be strong. …Okay.

Junko rubbed at her eyes. Yamaki glanced up at Musyamon. The armored brute watched them with those freaky eyes. It looked like he hadn't heard a word of their exchange. And he was counting on the fact he didn't believe that the Digimon would come after Junko until he was done with the pesky adult. After all, that was the "honorable" thing to do. Kneeling, Yamaki set his niece on the misty ground.

"You'd better get started, Junko. You're going to be okay."

That was the first lie he told her. And it was the last.

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_Tuesday, Time Unknown_

"It's almost ten, Mr. Asamiya." The nurse's voice crossed the room, pausing at his bedside. "Do you want me to turn on the TV?"

"Yeah."

The footsteps shuffled toward the far end of the room, and, with a click of the remote, turned on the TV. Yamaki couldn't see the screen, but he could certainly hear the TV's almost silent "hiss" even through the disembodied voices and sounds that floated around the endless darkness. The nurse set the remote down next him. "How's that?"

"It's fine," Yamaki said quietly. Since Eiji was forced to leave some time ago, he'd been allowed to sit up a little, resting his back against the hard pillows. They still wouldn't let him get out of the bed or take off the bandages. A few more days, and you can take them off, the doctor told him. But when that happened, he couldn't (mustn't) let his eyes come into contact with direct light, whether it was from the sun or anything else. He could either keep the bandages on or find something else to prevent direct exposure. His body would have to do the rest – he could expect his sight to return in a few months, at best.

"I'll be right down the hall if you need me."

The voice bustled around him, beyond the cover of the bandages. She was plainly comfortable in her patient's silence, chattering to fill in the gap.

"In my opinion, I'm amazed that no one else was hurt!"

Yamaki said nothing in reply. In fact, he'd rather the woman take the hint and _leave_, because he wanted to be alone at the moment.

"Big fluke, you know? Area's usually crawling with people."

"It wasn't then."

A loud pop of gum. "Yeah, I know. That's just the thing." Another pop. "Anyway, the doctor told me to keep an eye on you. If you need anything, just give me a shout." She was sure that this patient wasn't going to need it though. It didn't look like he was the troublemaker type. After all, he'd barely said anything longer than three words, and she found it just incredible he took everything with what she took for as calm, unhurried passivity. She continued, "I'm sure you'll recover fast."

Muttering something about finishing her rounds, the nurse finally closed the door behind her. The TV, before a background noise, became louder now that Yamaki had turned his full attention to it.

"Good evening, Shinjuku! It's a lovely night for all of Tokyo!"

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_Sunday, 11:34 AM_

Yamaki couldn't breathe.

He was choking, invisible hands around his throat. Spots danced in his vision. The young man was pressed against the wall of a store, fighting to breathe. He couldn't keep this up, not if he couldn't even get close enough to Musyamon to _do_ anything. His legs threatening to give out under him. The dull roaring sound next to his ears increased. He had to...had to resist this.

_It…worked the first…time. _He could repel the mental attacks of the monster, if he concentrated.

When Yamaki had finally turned to face Musyamon, he knew he was probably going to die. He knew he couldn't do anything to him, he'd already seen the monster's little feat of telekinesis. When he felt his weight start shifting upward – as if something unseen was straining to pick him up – he angrily convinced himself that he wasn't going anywhere. _He_ wasn't going to go down so easily. Yamaki hadn't expected anything from this mental refusal to submit, but something had happened. He'd dropped to his feet as the grip had abruptly loosened, almost as if the monster was startled at the human's defiance. If he slipped, if he began to _believe_, just for a moment, that Musyamon was really strangling him, he was going to pass out. His mind was already considering the idea of shutting down. Passing out seemed like a good idea.

And then it would have been all for nothing. Yamaki had to keep disbelieving, at least until Musyamon started to resort to physical attacks. Stars burst as the pain in his head, in his _being_, peaked and threatened to burst.

"No!"

The stranglehold fell away at Yamaki's hoarse moan. He staggered, leaning on the wall for support. His throat was killing him and his head throbbed.

"You're awfully persistent for a human," Musyamon remarked. He didn't sounded pleased. "Rather astonishing for one of your species. Didn't think you had it in you. Stronger than normal Will. It must run in your family."

Yamaki didn't reply, too busy gasping for breath. A thin trail of blood trickled from his nose.

Musyamon's acid gaze drifted past his prey onto something else beyond Yamaki's field of vision, then flicked expressionlessly back onto him. "A nice ploy. A last resort that might have worked." The lips quirked in amusement. "But I don't intend to let the little one escape while I deal with you."

Musyamon lowered his blade. For a moment, Yamaki felt the invisible threads of the monster's telekinetic grip fade away and, stupidly, he relaxed. His eyes flared open, startled, as the monster was suddenly in front of him, the huge boy towering over him and casting its deep shadow on him. One of the Digimon's claws was suddenly around his tortured neck. The eyes narrowed at him, and, with a growl, Musyamon slammed him into the wall. Yamaki felt the back of his head make contact with the brick.

Everything become a meaningless jumble.

He wasn't altogether sure what happened next. He didn't think he passed out, but he couldn't recall the last few minutes. He was aware of being surprised, some sort of struggle as the invisible hands took hold of him, confusion and then he was suddenly _here_, pinned against a different building.

Yamaki fought to break free of the white snow threatening to send him spiraling back into unconsciousness. Ignore the dizziness. The blood, as well, that he could feel matting his hair. Ignore it. Get up. Break free. But his brain moved at a snail's pace, and, his eyes opening, it took a while for his sluggish mind to make sense of the scene before him.

He was pinned up against a window of a storefront, so rattled by the blow he couldn't shake off the telekinesis keeping him trapped against the glass. Before him, Musyamon was crossing his blurring field of vision, his sword drawn as the huge, man-like creature advanced on something. Turning his head to see what it was, Yamaki almost passed out again in the process.

Junko backed away from Musyamon. But…now she looked helplessly at Yamaki, her eyes wavering with tears. Her uncle would come to her rescue, just like always, he would make it all better, wouldn't he? Junko's s dark clothing stood out in the mist, and, Yamaki realized dazedly, made her stand out like a sore. He struggled to free himself: more stars and the headache driving in like a knife.

Musyamon turned toward him. For a moment, the Champion's golden eyes were blank.

He smiled.

With a jolt, Yamaki _knew _what the Digimon was going to do, his exhausted mind open to the images the monster was "sending"; he would force him to witness the slaughter of his niece, finish the other human off when he deemed fit and not before. Horrified, Yamaki watched, wide-eyed, as the saber changed grips, this to one he hadn't seen before. Musyamon's steps widened as the distance between Junko and the monster closed. Yamaki thrashed, oblivious to the circles of pain leaping up into his vision as he screamed.

"_No_!"

Junko kept backing away, but there was nowhere to run.

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"It's a beautiful night."

"It sure is." A shuffle of papers. "But now to the news. Two days ago there was an explosion near…"

"…Shinjuku. Luckily, injuries were low…"

"…one dead or missing, one wounded…"

It was all starting to come back to him.

"Junko!" Yamaki screamed.

Blocking out his own pain, he focused all his strength into breaking free. He _wasn't_ tied down, he couldn't be. His muscles strained against the unseen bonds, aching with the effort. Blood dripped into his eyes, down the bridge of his nose as he leaned his body forward and threw his weight out, struggling furiously. "_Junko_!"

His world folded in on itself, he couldn't see, he hurt everywhere, but there was his niece, no no no no…

Musyamon glanced lazily over at his captive, one eye-ridge rising as he fixed on the human. It looked like he was doing the stupid thing and actually trying to get free – foolish, really. Even if he did fight off the Champion's mental grip, he wouldn't reach the little one in time. It puzzled the Digimon to no end. Why waste one's time when the last few moments of life should be savored? The whole thing was beyond his understanding, he decided and he turned his attention back on his target. Best to get this over with.

After all, it was the least he could do.

"Junko!"

It was too late. The blade came screaming forward as charged with whining energy, Musyamon's huge arms bulging as he began his final attack.

"_White Bird Blade_!"

Junko stumbling backward, holding her small hands over her eyes in an attempt to blot everything out of sight. Her scream was lost in the shriek from the Digimon's saber, her dark clothes becoming bleached from the approaching burst of power – black to gray and finally to a ghostly white as the light descended on the six-year old. With a hoarse shout, Yamaki burst free of the restraints. Even as he staggered forward, he was already scrambling to get between Junko and the deadly beam, trying to move as quickly as he could.

"_Uncle Yama_!"

Junko vanished into the shrill calls of the falcon-shaped beam, the very sky lighting up by the blast. The air before him flared a blinding white, and he felt his eyes involuntarily shut against the burn -

_"…the local authorities have released their press report…"_

White. So much _white_, searing his eyes. Rushing wind whipped at him like a hurricane.

_ "…at 11:30 AM, there was an acetylene explosion…"_

Too much noise. Too much light. Yamaki's own desperate shout was swallowed up by the explosion and suddenly he was lifted off his feet and flying, flying…

_ "…most likely an accident, according to the chief of police. Damages have been estimated at…"_

…backwards. A vague sensation of hitting something – a window – and smashing through it. Sharp trails of agony raced up and down his arms as shards became lodged into his skin, others bouncing off as they shattered from the frame. The energy of the blast tore around him, shredding everything, destroying anything.

All he knew was pain as he finally hit the floor of the building.

And then nothing.

_ "…yen…the canisters were located in…Mikimoto's…the owner expects…"_

_ "…Really just a miracle… it wasn't crowded…"_

Yamaki was slowly being smothered to death.

_ "…Ah! The chief of police has finished his interview now and…"_

_ "…The victims were a young girl and a man in his mid-twenties…"_

It wasn't from the rubble either…so…

_ "…So sad…but I suppose people can be careless…"_

_ "…I agree…it's very sad…"_

Invisible claws were around his throat, lifting his bleeding body up from the debris...

_"In East Shinjuku…"_

Silence. And then the throttling grip slowed as footsteps approached, so loud in his barely conscious ears.

"V-Vajramon! I…forgive me, my lord. I did not recognize you in that other form."

He couldn't move his limbs. Whatever the beast called it, "Will" or whatever, wasn't there.

"The beard and human body was necessary for the execution of the mission. And the humans here wouldn't accept me as Vajramon." A sound of mild disgust; the human voice, so _normal_, stooped down next to Yamaki. "Is the girl taken care of?"

"Yes, my lord."

"And her Digimon?"

"Not worth the effort. I found I could not bestow the honor of deletion on him. He wasn't like the others."

"Very well. I doubt he'll cause any trouble. No, don't start apologizing. Sometimes one needs to get his own hands into the affairs to see they're finished properly."

"Yes, my lord." The choking grip around Yamaki's neck tightened. "What shall I do about this one?"

A deliberating silence.

"Leave him for now. I have a feeling he might be of some use to our cause."

Yamaki hardly felt himself drop to the ground.

"This should set an example, I think. As if the first eight weren't enough."

"Perhaps it takes some time for the lesson to sink through, my lord."

"Most likely. I'll see to it this is all cleaned up. Rather big mess you left."

"My apologies."

Silence, something moving about. The human voice, somewhere above the curtain of pain and darkness, was talking into a cell phone.

"Bring a squad to clean this up, I want this to look like an accident. Right…yes, that too. No, low casualties, as planned. Right….right. Yes, go ahead." The toe of a boot roughly dug into Yamaki's torn side, prodding the limp human. No reaction. "Pick some of your men to be witnesses. I'll give you a story for them to memorize, but make sure they differ a little bit. It would look suspicious if all of their facts were the same. As soon as you've finished, I want you to call the paramedics…No…no, that's not an option. Be here in five minutes. Any slower isn't acceptable."

_Click_.

"Are you sure we should leave this one alive, my lord? He could reveal your position. He saw you."

A laugh through the deepening darkness. "By telling everyone that he saw a monster? That would be rather a disappointing reaction. I'm counting on something else."

"…I see," a puzzled grunt.

Yamaki couldn't see, could barely hear. He felt his blood, felt it trickling out of him into the dusty ground…

"You'll be rewarded for this service, of course." The cell-phone was put away. "The Council might even consider you as a candidate for the remaining positions in the Line. I'll be sure to recommend you at the next session."

"I would be very much honored, my lord."

Blood. There seemed to be so much of it. How much did he have in his body anyway?

"I'll see to this – you should be getting back. You're rather conspicuous."

Dizzy…light-headed…

"Yes, my lord." Plodding footsteps away.

"You royally messed things up," the boot nudged Yamaki non-too gently in the stomach. "But do me a favor and live."

Yamaki slipped back into unconsciousness again.

"I look forward to seeing you driven with revenge."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

His head was _killing_ him. Rather like an angry Allomon decided to take residence between his ears. _My head…_Squeezing his eyes shut, Impmon rubbed at a bruised and battered forehead with his paws. His ears ran as he sat up, and promptly hit his head on a branch overhead. Biting down a curse, the Rookie hit the offending branch, but failed to get any reaction from it. And his head _still_ hurt!

Impmon crawled forward, careful this time of the bush. It came to his notice that the ringing sound wasn't in his ears, although it was definitely close. It looked like a bunch of red and white boxes on wheels – _cars?_ – were approaching the street, lights flickering as a siren wailed. Impmon clapped his paws over his ears in attempt to muffle the siren. He watched in morbid fascination as they came to a stop and a bunch of two-legged figures piled out – _humans_ – and began bustling about the area, which, he suddenly noticed was in real bad shape.

A mental whistle. _You'd think a bomb woulda went off here or something..._

"Hey, there's someone over here!"

Impmon crept closer, careful to remain hidden. One of the humans was kneeling within the wreckage of a store (the front was completely missing, demolished from some sort of blast), and waving energetically at her friends. Two ran over with a stretcher. It seemed the others were attacking a fire with a big hose. _What's goin' on? _He couldn't help but wonder when this all happened. He thought he would've noticed buildings getting blown up, especially if it was close by. It was with mild interest that he watched the humans carefully put another human on the stretcher, the man's blond hair matted with drying blood.

_What's this feeling?_ Impmon's eyes narrowed in confusion. Needles blossomed in his head now as he focused on the unconscious human.

It seemed like he might've been someone he met, but any ding moments were met by a solid wall of throbbing pain. He clutched at his head as he came to a conclusion: humans were a cause of this. It was in his best interests to avoid them if he could, because if he came face to face with one – _a young girl laughing_ – he would probably regret it. Impmon began backing away from the street. In fact, _now _seemed like a good time to start.

Impmon crawled away from his hiding place, unnoticed by the paramedics and the firefighters. Lost in a frightening city filled with uncaring humans, he would end up wandering for four years without any memory of his Tamer and the positive emotions he'd felt in her presence. As far as he concerned, humans were just bad news.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Today they let Yamaki get out of that damned bed. He'd made enough of a fuss about it for the past week and a half, but for some reason the hospital staff treated him like he was made out of china.

It had been that long since he'd first found himself here and Yamaki was quickly getting tired of the whole ordeal. Today couldn't come fast enough. Yamaki wanted to get used to moving without his eyes: his mind's gears were working and he was already starting to formulate a plan. One that even Eiji might have been proud of.

Well, if he was here, maybe. Eiji hadn't visited again. Yamaki couldn't blame him.

With a sigh, Yamaki sat on the edge of the bed. Groping about, he found the sidebars and pushed himself up until he was standing on shaky legs. It pissed him off to no end to find his body hadn't been keeping up with his brain. He'd been recalling quite a bit of what had happened that day, his mind dancing from one idea to another, putting two and two together, calculating, sometimes smoldering with rage and sorrow as he remembered more and more. He had to do something.

That, unfortunately, started with learning how to walk on his own.

Staggering forward, Yamaki felt along the walls, following them until he felt the glass of the shut window. He eventually found the lock and pulled the window open. Even through the bandages they changed daily, he could still feel the warmth of the afternoon sunlight pouring in.

In fact, he was so occupied with the touch of the fresh air that he didn't hear the door open. He jumped when someone knocked on the wall, whirling around automaticaly.

"Yamaki Asamiya, I presume?"

Yamaki frowned. God, he hated this, having to figure out just _where_ the visitor stood. If he didn't keep talking, Yamaki would lose track of the man. He still had to work on using his other senses, now that sight was out of the picture. Considering the fact he didn't recognize the speaker as someone he intimately knew (the voice sounded mildly familiar, if anything), he didn't feel the need to give a response.

With a shrug, he went about locating a chair, straining to place this newcomer.

"My most heartfelt apologies concerning the accident."

Finally finding the chair, Yamaki sat down. He winced as pain shot up. The speaker moved around the bed now as he spoke. "My name is Ataru Nagamora."

"It sounds like you know who I am," Yamaki replied. He briefly considered shutting the window and drawing the blinds. It was the only way he could take off the bandages. Considering how hard it had been to get to the window, he decided against it. Yamaki faced in the general direction he thought his visitor was, his mouth set. "I thought they didn't allow visitors after a certain point," he remarked.

"They made an exception for me," Nagamora's indistinct voice said in return.

"I don't think I've met you before," Yamaki said. He really didn't want to be in anyone's company right now, much less that of a stranger. In fact, he'd rather not talk to anyone, if he had a choice.

"Actually, you have, but I suppose most people forget my face rather easily. It's not exactly memorable."

Christ, he hoped this wasn't someone from his job. Yamaki couldn't even think about working right now, going back to everything like nothing happened._  
_

"Oh." Yamaki turned his face down, rubbing at the gauze around his arms absentmindedly. According to the doctor, he could take those off soon, but because of the damage, he would probably have a bunch of scars there. They itched underneath the cloth. "I don't suppose you came here to chit-chat, Nagamora," he didn't bother being polite. "I'd rather you get to the point."

"You're awfully calm, considering your niece died recently."

Yamaki tried to aim a murderous glare at the man without a face. "How I feel isn't any of your business." Far as he was concerned, this wasn't over. Musyamon was out there and Yamaki planned to get him. Yamaki bit the inside of his cheek. He had to be calm_. _If he didn't, he wasn't sure he could keep himself together. "And I don't believe _that_," he found he started to choke up on saying Junko's name, "has anything to do with you."

Nagamora only chuckled, unfazed. "True. I didn't come here to bring up some, ah, unpleasant memories."

_ Memories? Bull. I saw her die right in front of me, vaporized to nothing – and you reduce her to a "memory"?_

Yamaki angrily pushed himself to his feet, careful to keep the unsteady waver in his legs to a minimum. He didn't have to put up with this asshole, this pretentious jerk who got on his nerves that much more because he seemed so _normal_. "Well? Talk or get out of my room."

"It's really a gesture of goodwill, but I think I might be of some use to you in the future," Nagamora answered, unhurried. "I'll leave you my card, but you should contact me when you're in need of my services. Then and only then."

Yamaki was suddenly tired from dealing with Nagamora and just wished him gone, rubbing at his temples. He didn't turn around as his visitor made a motion to leave. Nagamora's footsteps reached the door.

"Accidents don't just 'happen'. It's always cause and effect – and this cause, I believe, was of a digital nature. Good-bye, Mr. Asamiya."

Yamaki spun around at this last comment, but Nagamora was already gone.

He leaned against the window, astonished, and slowly slid down to the floor. This…this wasn't what he'd been expecting. Someone _knew_ about these monsters, it wasn't just him! This changed everything. The room cooled as the evening deepened, casting the room in a darkness he couldn't see. _Others know of them. _He hadn't thought of that. If others knew, then maybe… Yamaki wasn't by himself. He could find others.

_ It's still my fault._ Junko was dead because of him. He hadn't done enough to prevent it from happening and his hesitation had cost her and everyone else, her parents, her brother: now an only child.

There hadn't even been anything left of his niece after the attack. Yamaki drew his legs up to his stomach, his chest heaving silently with tears that wouldn't come but burned at his damaged eyes. _It should've been me, not here._ But he was all too alive, and it was more and more painful the more he thought about it now._ I should be dead._

_ I could have been. But I was spared…_

Junko hadn't been spared. Neither had Impmon.

_…Impmon_. Part of his anger suddenly found a place to latch onto. Impmon had a part to play in this as well, he'd failed too. Useless, completely useless! Yamaki hadn't been able to do anything, but Impmon had that power. He hadn't used it, he'd let Junko down like Yamaki had. It didn't matter where Impmon was now, if he was even alive. Nothing mattered, except that Yamaki had failed in his duties. Junko was dead. It was horrifying to recall the incident, the accident-that-wasn't.

_"Leave him for now. I have a feeling that he might be of some use to our cause."_

Yamaki wasn't even worth the bother._  
_

_ "Do me a favor and live."_

He was going to be used by these creatures._  
_

Yamaki's fingers tightened around his knee. No. The shame and anger would always follow him as long as he lived the life he didn't deserve in the first place, but he wouldn't give in so easily. No, he wouldn't roll over, he decided, not to these _murderers_. There was nothing else to look forward. Not his job, not Yayoi, nor his unsupportive family or his brother. There was nothing else to lose.

_Why was I spared? There must have been a reason._

Something must be done, something to pay those monsters, those Digimon back in full. To punish them all for what they did to her. He was still at fault, so very guilty…but he would have a purpose now. H_e _would hunt them down just like they came after his niece; he would get stop them before it would happen to someone else.

_ My guilt, this shame…this won't be a penance. This will be revenge._

_ I'll destroy them all._

**Fin**  
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	9. He Who Cried Wolf

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon. This fanfic is for fun.  
**Author's Note**: Once again, this is pretty much an AU. It starts off at a point in the canon storyline (before the first Deva appears) and goes off in a totally different direction. This will be a crossover between Digimon canons.

I'm currently reformating and tightening up the chapters. I'm also redoing some of the dialog to reflect the later chapters, especially in regards to Ryo Akiyama and Jenrya.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
_"Dialogue"_ is similar to telepathy

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Digital Shuffle  
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(He Who Cried Wolf)

_ "Jenrya…"_

A voice, wandering just beyond his reach.

_"Jenrya, come here."_

Why?

_ "There's something I want you to look at."_

Who?

_ "You're too far away."_

Takato?

_"Please come here, Jenrya. Please? I can't see you from here."_

The voice – so cold, so emotionless, and yet familiar – was alluring. Jenrya wasn't quite aware of what he was doing as he got out of bed, his gray eyes glazing over as he stumbled over to the computer, its monitor glowing green and throbbing in time with the "words".

Drawn to it,Jenrya blindly sat down in his chair, face blank as he stared intently at the screen.

_ "I need to see you. Come closer."_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Yamaki muffled a yawn. This early in the morning, most of Hypnos's personnel hadn't arrived yet – those that had were trying frantically to wake up as their boss strode past them. At this ungodly hour when it was still dark outside), he didn't really care at the moment. When he'd contacted Nagamora a few years ago, he hadn't been expecting these early meetings the man kept springing up on him, otherwise he might have thought twice about the deal. Well, he would've said yes regardless, but there was still the principle of the matter.

Yamaki his way through the still-dark corridors. Although he'd recovered his sight a couple of years ago, he found he was still comfortable with moving in the dark. After all, he'd gotten so used to it it was hard to shake the habit of relying on senses other than sight, even when it wasn't necessary anymore. Besides, he knew this building up and down: from the innocent offices on the top floors, the lobby and the elevators that would only travel to certain levels (as protection against people wandering in on Hypnos), all the way down to the Yuggoth chamber, so it was easy to move about.

Yamaki let himself into the conference room, his stride hesitating only for a moment when he noticed Nagamora wasn't alone. The man reclined in one of the chairs around the huge, black marble desk, a woman at his side. Yamaki raised an eyebrow at this, his expression hidden behind the safety of his sunglasses. What was _Kincaid_ doing here? He kept his mouth shut. Right, Kincaid was originally one of Nagamora's staff, so he'd probably called upon her services again.

Yamaki sat down across from Nagamora. "Well?"

Nagamora held out his hand. Kincaid handed several folders to him, the woman stepping backward discreetly. Laying the folders out before him, he slid one to Yamaki, lacing his fingers together. "These are the reports concerning Hypnos's progress and that," he motioned at the papers Yamaki was examining, "is the details of our branches."

"Hard to believe you're having financial trouble," Yamaki remarked. Behind the sunglasses, his eyes scanned through the packets. Everything had been doctored almost to perfection, as expected, but he wasn't fooled and Nagamora already knew that. This was really just his sponsor's strange way of exchanging pleasantries. "But this isn't what you wanted to talk to me about."

"Of course not. These are merely minor details." Nagamora adjusted his glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose. "Actually, I'm a bit curious about several things, one of them concerning you." The mild-mannered man gave a little half-smile. "If you don't mind."

_Actually, I _do_ mind._ "Not at all."

Nagamora leaned back, regarding Yamaki. "For the most part, we have worked on good terms with each other. I contacted you four years ago, after doing some …ah, research." Nagamora accepted the cup of coffee that Kincaid offered him, sipping it as Yamaki declined the next cup.

"I know."

"I noticed you changed your name."

A shrug. Why bring this up? A name was a name. It didn't mean anything to Nagamora. "I did."

"And your personal records seem to have mysteriously disappeared." This time there was a hint of amusement in the older man's voice.

"It's annoying when people keep taking peeks at who I was," Yamaki said. He was uncomfortable with the idea of someone stumbling across them; after all, there was enough about him there to uncover Hypnos – if one dug deep enough – and it was easier just to get rid of them. Besides, as far as he was concerned, the "Asamiya" name was as good as dead. "I prefer to remain anonymous, if possible."

"I see," Nagamora chuckled. He fiddled with the ring around his middle finger, touching the indecipherable inscriptions and glancing askance at Kincaid. "I was just wondering about that."

Yamaki deigned not to give any response. Without asking, he lit a cigarette, watching silently as his sponsor set down his steaming cup of coffee, smiling at him with an almost fatherly expression. "It's been what, four, five years?"

God, not this again. Why did he insist on bringing up painful subjects? "Four," Yamaki answered tersely.

"And you're still dedicated to your goal."

"Yes."

"That's good to hear," Nagamora took another sip of coffee, gesturing at the files laid out on the table. "Regarding the Juggernaut…we'll unseal it in a few months but there might be a few…technical difficulties. Nothing serious. Kincaid here tells me that without the constant maintenance of its tech crew, the system will probably need to be adjusted. It should take a day or two, nothing to worry about."

"Fine." Yamaki wasn't sure what to make of this. _Something_ wasn't quite right, but his instincts, being as useless as they were, weren't being very specific and didn't decide to clarify things for him. A quick glance at the Hypnos reports: mostly things he already knew and was on top of. Good. It went to show if you wanted to keep something secret, you kept it to yourself. "The Digimon are coming in greater numbers, but Hypnos can handle them. However, I believe I requested some military back-up, if it became necessary."

Nagamora waved the matter away. "Done."

"Also, concerning some of the employees, there are number that I want off the job. And this time I'm going to hire the replacements."

The corner of Nagamora's mouth twitched, but that was all.

"Very well."

Yamaki didn't bring up the children with the Digimon as the conference progressed. Perhaps it was his own experiences with Junko that kept him silent about them, but whatever the reason, he didn't mention them. His trust in Nagamora was already low, despite the tremendous help the man gave him. Best to have a wild card somewhere in the works. Nagamora conducted the rest of the meeting with his trademark ease, moving along at an unhurried pace. Occasionally he would ask a sensitive question, make a double-sided remark. Yamaki, however, was ready, fending them off, readily taking up arms in this verbal fencing. This went on for about an hour, at which Nagamora glanced at his watch.

"Ah, it looks like we're done, for the time being." A nod. "Thank you for your cooperation."

His face carefully expressionless, Yamaki nodded and left, the door shutting non-too-gently behind him. His footsteps gradually faded away, leaving Nagamora and Kincaid alone. With a soft chuckle, Kincaid draped her arms along the head Nagamora's seat, looking down at him. She wasn't worried about their conversation being overheard or picked up – the room was soundproof:

"You think he knows?"

Nagamora began cleaning his glasses with a small square of black cloth, shrugging. "To some extent, probably. But he's willing to deal with me regardless of his suspicions. He'd deal with the devil if it meant he got what he wanted. And that's all I'm asking for."

Kincaid seated herself close to her cohort, an impish grin on her face. She thoroughly enjoyed the exchange between Yamaki and Nagamora, listening with interest as they exchanged veiled barbs and such. Yamaki was a good opponent for the Founder, she realized. The human apparently had done his own research. _Maybe too much._ In fact, she had to wonder just how far the his knowledge went. Did he know of the previous human encounters with Digimon, for example? Or did he even know of the role Digimon played now? That just made this all the more entertaining and she told Nagamora exactly that.

A throaty laugh. "You haven't changed a bit: you always manage to make a game out of everything."

"Not _everything_," Kincaid mock-pouted, gesturing at the ring her companion wore on his finger. "For example, that. I was rather serious in making that just for you, I'll have you know. Although I have to say, you looked a lot better with horns than glasses."

"And people would take more notice of me," Nagamora answered dryly. As Founder, it was far more useful to blend into the background, to play the hidden conductor in the orchestra. But he appreciated the gift, more so when he recalled the fact that Kincaid had made it for _him_ and him alone. There was no other like it and only he could wear it. "I never got to thank you."

"You know I favor you." Kincaid grinned that same, cheeky expression, but it was between equals this time. She would never dare treat Nagamora the way she treated her subordinates. Not only were they equals, but he was also a long-time friend of hers. Perhaps more than a friend. "Besides, it was nothing."

"I appreciate your attentions and I _think_ I'm honored. However, returning back to the topic…" Nagamora shook his head, leaning back into the seat. "Yamaki probably knows quite a bit, more than he lets on. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about the previous eight children before his niece. Unfortunate mess, that."

An exaggerated groan. "I remember that. It was such a pain trying to get their partners back on track and actually _useful_."

"Humans tend to have that negative effect on their Digimon partners."

"When did you suddenly get so observant?"

"It was obvious watching them during quarantine. Some of them were practically suicidal." Nagamora set his glasses on the spotless surface of the table, his voice reproaching. He didn't even need them, but he found wearing them tended to throw humans off-guard, which was just what he wanted. "But of course that was several years ago. I heard you were going to recommend several of them for the remaining positions of the Line."

"I planned to nominate Greymon for the Sword, but he went and got himself deleted, so _that_ idea just went out the window," Kincaid frowned thoughtfully. "Right now we need the Shield. The Juggernaut will be online soon enough and since I plan to begin the second phase as soon as I have confirmation of the merge, I'd like to start taking care of things ahead of time." Her lips pursed as she considered her options.

"I think I have some suitable candidates. You're going to use the Golems?"

"It's not like anyone's going to miss them. Besides, they make good vessels and I'm pretty sure they can hold the energy sources they'll drain from the hosts, at least long enough for them to make a one-way trip to the Juggernaut."

"There'll be bodies then. Humans get rather finicky about corpses lying about." Since humans didn't dissolve into data like Digimon did, it was a bit harder to hide them. If too many were found dead, then there could be a large scale of panic in the city, which would complicate things unnecessarily. The Shield would have to be quite powerful to contain the unavoidable fear, not just maintain a physical barrier preventing entrance or exit like it had originally been planned. The population would have to stay within the confines of Tokyo if the mission was to succeed. Otherwise the Juggernaut's fuel sources would scatter.

"Bah! Leave that to me."

"If you insist."

"Have you no faith in me? You're terrible."

"Very terrible," Nagamora agreed mildly. Kincaid only shook her head. "No, no, I trust you. Seriously, I do." Getting to his feet, he turned to regard Kincaid. "Although I may have to ask another favor of you."

The Deceiver raised an eyebrow. "Fire away."

"Watch Yamaki for me, could you? I can't watch him twenty-four hours a day. Although his cooperation is still needed, he could be a potential danger now."

"I'll tell you as soon as I see any signs of trouble," Kincaid assured him. She winked. "I think I can take care of him if it comes down to that. After all, he's only human."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Terriermon would rather sleep in, if he had the choice. _Gotta…get up._ But the bed was so _warm_, the comforters just the right amount of comfyness (a new word in his vocabulary), and he wasn't too keen on the idea of dragging himself out of them. Besides, as soon as he did, he'd most likely get jumped by Shuichon and stuffed into another one of those doll dresses. _I promised to wake Jenrya up though._

A weary, heroic sigh. The things he did for his partner.

Rolling over, Terriermon's eyes opened. To his surprise, Jenrya wasn't there sleeping next to him as he usually did. Did he already get up? Yawning, Terriermon rubbed at his eyes with bunched paws, casting a regretful look back at the bed. _Well, no point in snuggling back in. I'm already awake._ Another sleepy yawn. Maybe he could stay home today; he thought he could suffer the attentions of Jenrya's sister for a while and he didn't really want to hang around the school all day, waiting for his partner to get it over with. The Rookie sat up. And promptly blinked in surprise as he saw Jenrya seated in front of his computer.

"Uh…Jenrya, we gotta go soon."

No response.

_Oh, so now he's not talking to me? _Terriermon huffed. _That's not very nice! _His friend remained sitting where he was, motionless as he stared at something on the screen. Grumbling, Terriermon hopped down from the bed, making his way toward Jenrya. He'd told him to get him ready and he was going to keep that promise. Even if it meant dragging the Tamer to the closet! For crying out-loud, he wasn't even _dressed_ yet. _What am I, his babysitter?_ The Digimon threw up mental paws.

"Jenrya, I mean it," he raised his voice, scrunching his button nose. Tugging on Jenrya's pant leg, he continued more urgently, "You're going to be late for school!"

Jenrya started as Terriermon's voice woke him up. Blinking, he looked down quizzically at his partner, then at the computer. The screen was off, the monitor black. For some reason, he must've fallen asleep at his desk – he had no idea why – and that explained the cramp forming up the base of his spine. Wincing, he got to his feet, smiling sheepishly at Terriermon:

"Sorry, guess I fell asleep."

"You sleep like a log. Sheesh," Terriermon grumped, moving behind him and pushing at the heels of his bare feet. "Go get dressed. You know, I coulda been sleeping late, but no-o-o, a certain _someone_ insists I wake him up even though he already _has_ an alarm clock…"

Jenrya only laughed at this as he pulled a shirt over his head. "But you're so much better than a boring old alarm clock."

_That_ made Terriermon feel a little better: he couldn't help preening a bit. True, he had a lot of perks.

"And besides, no one can nag like you can."

"Jenrya!" Terriermon threw a pillow at him. Jenrya ducked the projectile, sticking his tongue out at Terriermon, who began reaching for the nearest weapon with a threatening gesture.

"Kidding, kidding," Jenrya reached for his orange vest. "Anyway, thanks for waking me up. Nag."

He dodged the next pillow thrown at him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As a matter of fact, Jenrya didn't get to school late – he still had about ten minutes to spare as he slid into his assigned seat. Juri watched the door, occasionally glancing at him curiously, wondering where Takato was. Jenrya had told the truth, that he didn't know where he was. It was a little sad, watching her perking up hopefully whenever the door slid open, even though she tried to look busy: her hand puppet was currently engaged in an energetic conversation with another student. Jenrya sighed, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. _It's been almost a week since I last saw Takato._

Mr. Mori stepped into the classroom as the last few kids straggled in, rushing to get to their seatsl. Once again he called everyone's name. Once again there was always one missing.

This wasn't good. His worry for Takato only doubled as the time went by and now he couldn't get a hold of Ruki. Even Renamon was nowhere to be seen. _First Takato vanishes and now Ruki._ Jenrya wanted to tear his hair out in sheer frustration. Why was all of this happening? Why now?

" - Class, I'm pleased to announce that we have a new student."

Jenrya looked up as the sound of Mr. Mori's voice derailed his train of thought: around him, the other kids were chattering with each other, wondering what this new student would look like, why he might be arriving so late in the school year. The teacher held his hands up and nodded toward the door.

"Please welcome Ryo Akiyama, class."

The door slid open, a tall boy letting himself into the classroom as the other students turned as one to take a look at this newcomer. Dressed in dark shades of blue and gray, Ryo Akiyama cut an impressive, if not cocky figure. His brown hair was swept back away from his face, cropped no-nonsense short. His black eyes flicked around the room, his lips turned up in a cynical half-grin as he made his way toward the front of the room, coming to a stop at Mr. Mori's desk. Nodding at Ryo, the teacher turned to face his class, glowering until everyone quieted down.

Ryo leaned against the teacher's desk, crossing his arms over his chest as he grinned at the class. "Ryo Akiyama. My favorite colors are gray and red. This is the sixth school I've transferred to and will probably be the sixth I'll have transferred out of." A careless wave with his fingers. "Nice to meet you."

"….I'm sure you'll fit right in, Ryo," Mr. Mori gestured at the only empty seat available, not sure what to say to that. "I'll have someone bring up another seat for you, but you'll have to use that for today, if you don't mind."

Ryo shrugged. "Whatever works."

Jenrya watched, wary, as Ryo wound his way toward him, sauntering toward Takato's unoccupied desk. Reaching his destination, Ryo plopped himself down in the desk, lounging back as he dumped his backpack onto the floor. He looked perfectly at home. Jenrya turned his attention elsewhere. Maybe it was him, but there was something about this new student. Maybe it was just the kid's attitude…but it was also a bit strange for a student to be transferring so late. Jenrya froze as he noticed that Ryo was looking over at him now. His expression was one of sarcastic boredom.

Jenrya matched his stare with one of his own.

Mr. Mori was oblivious to it all as he addressed the class. "Since we'll be having an extended weekend coming up, we'll be focusing mostly on group work. I'll assign each group a topic. You'll be presenting it to your classmates at the end of the week. I want this to look good, as well as be informative. Remember, those of you who aren't presenting will take notes on each other's projects – expect a quiz next Wednesday."

Ryo only rolled his eyes as the rest of the children groaned in protest.

"I'll be assigning team leaders. They'll pick the groups." The teacher held up a hand before the class exploded into questions. "What they say goes. Now, if you've got questions, I'll be at my desk. I want you guys to keep your voices down," Mr. Mori began walking down the aisles, counting off the students. "Form groups of five." Turning about, he surveyed his students. "Alright, very good. Juri, Setsuna, Kyoichi, Haruhiko, Rumiko, and Hitoshi are the team leaders. Go get started."

Jenrya discreetly watched Ryo, pretending to be absorbed in flipping through his history book. The new guy didn't bother to get to his feet, leaning back lazily as the other students milled about. Apparently he didn't see the point in getting to work, that or just didn't feel like standing up. Jenrya frowned. There was definitely something about him, though the Tamer couldn't place a finger on it. _Maybe I'm just being overly suspicious. _After all, he really had no basis for getting paranoid. Just because Ryo was new didn't mean that -

"Jenrya."

He looked up from his current page: Juri stood over him, giving him a friendly smile. "Um…since I'm one of the group leaders, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being a part of my group?"

Jenrya nodded. "Sure."

Juri beamed, her hand puppet giving a delighted bark at him before she turned right around and promptly asked Ryo if he wanted to join.

"Might as well," Ryo grunted, getting to his feet – he towered over Juri, who only reached his shoulder. Shooting an unreadable look at Jenrya, Ryo followed the hand puppet to the corner of the classroom, where the other member – Hirokazu – was zealously protecting a square of four desks pushed together from the other kids. Hirokazu would growl warningly at any kids that tried to run off with one of the desks he was currently guarding.

He was in the middle of shooing another thief away when Juri approached him with Ryo and Jenrya in tow.

Hirokazu grinned as the others sat down. "About time you guys came."

Juri's hand puppet barked, dog head bobbing. "Juri had to get more people for the group, Hirokazu!"

Ryo leaned back in his desk. "What's this topic Mr. M wants?"

Hirokazu, looking slightly startled at the lack of respect in the Ryo's voice, spoke up. "I think we're supposed to be something on – get this – Genghis Khan." An incredulous laugh. "How messed up is that?"

"Sounds like busywork."

Jenrya wisely kept his mouth shut. Ryo rubbed him the wrong way and he wasn't careful, he'd probably say something that he would regret. Jenrya said nothing, deciding that silence was the best option as he took out some notebook paper and handed it to Juri.

"Thank you, Jenrya," the hand puppet was set down as Juri took up pencil, her voice returning to normal. "I guess I'll write down the key points: anyone want to read them out-loud to me?"

Ryo shrugged. "What the hell." Everyone stared at him. "I'll do it."

Jenrya flipped through one the packets Mr. Mori gave them, handing it to Ryo when he'd found the right place. Maybe it would be better if he just watched this new student for the moment before saying anything, observe him before he decided on anything. Ryo read off information on the sheet, interjecting it with his own remarks that had nothing to do with the project and oblivious to the worshipful stare Hirokazu fixed on him. Juri didn't seem to mind Ryo – but then again, she didn't seem to mind anything, tolerating just about anyone and trying to be friendly with whoever would let her, talking about this and that (she was going to the country in a few weeks for a family vacation). Jenrya was ready to ignore his suspicions until Hirokazu suddenly asked Ryo if he had ever played the Digimon card game.

"Nope. Used to. Not anymore." Ryo glanced at Jenrya, noticing his gaze on him. "What about you?"

"I'm not a serious player," Jenrya replied quietly.

Ryo raised an eyebrow at Jenrya, fixing him with a cynical smile.

"Oh, I think you are."

"What makes you so sure?" Jenrya asked mildly.

"It's a lot different when other people are depending on you, for one thing," Jenrya froze at this cryptic remark. Ryo didn't seem to notice the other boy stiffen, going back to carelessly flipping through the packet. "Besides, it's a lot of fun when the stakes are low. It doesn't matter so much when you lose in a _game_."

Jenrya said nothing.

Ryo folded a page back. "When you're serious about it, though, you can't afford to lose. Know what mean? I'm pretty sure you're very serious about it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Floating among the ever-changing digital lines, Takato gazed up at the darkness, his arms folded behind his head. He guessed it was several hours since the conversation with the Juggernaut; thinking back to it now, it already seemed like a vague memory. He wondered if it happened in the first place. He wasn't sure. It was getting so blurred…

Where was the Juggernaut? That question had been bugging the young Tamer for a while now as he tried to keep himself busy. At first he tried counting as high as he could, but that got boring after awhile, and he kept miscounting anyway. As time passed, he stopped bothering to play games in his mind, instead opting to stare off into nothing and letting his mind go blank. There was nothing to focus on, nothing at all. Takato sighed. The problem with not thinking of _anything_ was that eventually you'd think of something – like he was doing now – which would completely defeat the purpose.

It was with more than a little relief that he actually _welcomed_ the supercomputer back when it spoke to him again.

** My apologies, companion system. There was something I wished to attend to and I have finished processing the new information.**

Takato pulled himself into a sitting position.

"New information?" From him?

** No, not from you. Someone you know. During the conversation I had with you not long ago, I was reminded that the option of a permanent avatar was available to me. I decided to look for a familiar face so you will have less difficulty identifying with me. It took a while to process the data I copied from the scan, due to the outside source's nature and the fact it is different from yours, but I can now take a form here.**

_ Really?_

**Really. Let me show you.** The digital lines rippled to Takato's surprise. The boy looked on with interest as they changed directions and swirled into a spiral, winding about a small patch of shadow that seemed to be solidifying as light wound a dizzying pattern around it. They continued to be absorbed by the form until only the two of them were left floating in the empty space, now devoid of any color. The Juggernaut, getting to its feet, easily put on a smile. **Familiar?**

Takato was at a loss of words as the avatar gazed at him, still as a statue. He couldn't believe this – his eyes went wide with shock as he stared back at the human standing before him, breathless. _This…I…_

_ Jenrya._

** Of course. But keep in mind I am not the real thing.**

Takato continued to stare, gaping, as Jenrya Lee strode toward him. This image of Jenrya was almost flawless: he had those same, piercing gray eyes, that cropped blue hair. Even the same expression was there, a gentle, knowing smile on Jenrya's face, though his clothes were a bit different than he remembered – in fact, looking closely, they would shift, from the orange and black outfit to a loose t-shirt and shorts to a black jacket and matching tight jeans. But…he wasn't a perfect copy, Takato saw that now. His stare dropped down to the other boy's chest. Occasionally it would be run with static, fuzzing in and out for a few moments only for the splotches to reappear again somewhere else on his body. Sometimes there would be blotches of black where Takato could see right through him.

**It is difficult to maintain an avatar here, hence the imperfections in the image.** Jenrya…no, the Juggernaut, he realized, sauntered close to him, looking down at Takato, who couldn't hide the struck expression on his face as he gazed up stupidly at his friend. **I take it this is an effective choice. I thought so.** Jenrya's lips never moved.

Takato couldn't help but fall back into the habit of speaking aloud, swallowing several times as he tried to collect his wits about him. He was further startled as Jenrya/the Juggernaut held a hand out to him. Takato started to reach for it, but hesitated.

"I…w…won't I just go right through you?" Jeez, he was sounding like such an _idiot_ right now…

** No. I'm as material as you are.**

Still doubtful, Takato accepted the gesture, allowing the avatar to pull him to his feet. Despite the fact he wasn't entirely solid, Jenrya/the Juggernaut was strong. Even now, a part of his stomach was fuzzing out along with the black denim jacket. His hand was even _warm_, Takato realized. Suddenly curious, he turned the avatar's hand over in his. There was that small scar across his knuckle, faint and almost invisible. The one that'd he gotten from a soda can because he hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing. Takato looked up at his friend's face: the supercomputer returned the glance with a serene, docile expression.

Reaching out tentatively, Takato touched the black jacket; it had been about to shift to the orange vest but solidified back to dark denim as soon as his fingers brushed against it.

The Juggernaut stood where it was, allowing him to examine the image's shape. Takato took in everything with a short of morbid curiosity, buttoning and unbuttoning the dark sleeves, poking his arms, gently bending the fingers back and forth, standing on his tiptoes and eyeing the other's shock of blue hair, even going back and checking to see that the scar on his knuckle was still there, running his thumb over the small ridge. His eyes fell onto a patch of blurriness forming on Jenrya's/the Juggernaut's shoulder, and, with a sudden swell of courage, he poked several fingers through it: there was some resistance, rather like passing through thick, muggy hot fog. He could see part of his hand through the other boy's shoulder, his fingertips sticking out the other side.

As if suddenly self-conscious, Takato quickly jerked his hand away, as if he'd been stung – the hole closed, becoming solid again.

** It is impossible to control those**, the Juggernaut remarked, breaking its "silence". Jenrya's tanned hand rose up, gesturing at a new splotch forming on his side. For a moment, a string of static danced from his waist to his neck, vanishing just as quickly as it had appeared. **But they are harmless. What do you think, Takato Matsuda? Is this suitable?**

Takato rubbed at his eyes, wondering at length if Jenrya was really standing here with him. "It's…it's almost…almost..." His voice was strained, tight. This couldn't be real, this was more than he could handle with indifference.

** Like the real thing?**

"…y-yeah," Takato said, thoroughly shaken.

** This will make communication between us less difficult.** Those gray eyes meet his, so familiar to him that Takato almost cried. He barely had enough self-control to prevent himself from bursting into helpless tears.

This wasn't Jenrya, he _knew_ that. But still…it was so difficult not to let himself forget – even now, stealing a glance at the other boy – he was already starting to regard the avatar as "Jenrya", instead of "it", instead of "the Juggernaut". Gulping again, he turned away from the face of his friend. Jenrya wasn't here. This was only a fake. A very, very, very good fake. But not Jenrya. _He looks exactly the same_, Takato worried. _He even _acts_ the same. _

Takato raised his eyes to see Jenrya/the Juggernaut standing in front of him, his head tilted as he wordlessly regarded him. Takato immediately dropped his gaze again, feeling self-conscious.

**This is important, Takato Matsuda. Pay attention. **Jenrya knelt now, trying to get Takato to look him in the eyes. Takato looked away, biting his lip. He couldn't do this. Seeing Jenrya's face brought back all the fears, all the images of his family and friends he'd tried so hard to forget. He couldn't take this, this pain: his family, his friends…but Jenrya was here now, someone was actually _here_. Tears brimmed out of his control, blurring the edges of his vision. **Companion system, you are overreacting.  
**

He knew that, but… "You…Jenrya…I." Takato trailed off lamely.

There was a pause, such a long one that Takato looked up, suddenly worried the other boy might have vanished on him. Those piercing gray eyes, devoid of that friendly, caring spark Jenrya possessed, were fixed on him. Trapped now, the Tamer's gaze was transfixed. He couldn't look away, only squirm uncomfortably as he was held in place. He felt like something in him was going to explode: it was building and building and wasn't stopping…

** Do you really want to believe I am him, companion system? Does it matter that much to you?**

Takato, his eyes glimmering with tears, gave the barest of nods.

** Very well.**

Jenrya smiled again, and, taking a few steps forward, he wrapped his arms around Takato in a hug. Takato felt a sudden sob wrack his body as he pressed his face into the other boy's shoulder and _cried_. Everything came tumbling out. Jenrya said nothing to him. Jenrya couldn't speak because Jenrya was Jenrya. Jenrya never spoke. Something was breaking inside Takato, but he didn't care. He buried his tear-streaked face further. Jenrya never spoke, not with words, but with _feelings_, never with words. Jenrya was Jenrya now. As the Tamer sobbed quietly, his hands clutched blindly at the blue-haired boy, his fingers sinking into the warm body as the fuzzing patches appeared and disappeared. He _knew_ this wasn't right, this wasn't Jenrya. But…but it was easier this way, just to have a friendly shoulder to cry against. To lie to himself.

This was a good lie.

It was a good one that would hurt him. It would hurt him simply because it was so very tempting, so invitingly deceptive.

** It's going to be alright**, Jenrya told him – now his "words" sounded so familiar, losing the stilted, formal tone. This only caused Takato to lose whatever little composure he had left, his choked sounds growing louder in its desperate relief and more urgent. **Takato, it's going to be alright. I'm here. I'm here for you.**

Takato cried himself out after a while. Jenrya slowly rocked him in the hug, imitating the images that the supercomputer had picked up from the scan. Eventually the wrenching sobs died down, although Takato continued to sniffle into the avatar's shoulder, his face still resting against his jacket.

**Are you done?**

Takato rubbed at his nose, sniffling tearfully. "I…I think so."

** There's no need to cry, Takato.**

But there _was_ a reason to cry, there was always a reason to everything. The Juggernaut knew that, Takato knew that, Jenrya knew that. He cried for a bunch of reasons: he was scared, he was lonely, he was bored, he was angry, he was relieved, he was ashamed…everything. Ashamed because he knew he was only setting himself, relieved because he was glad to be set up. It would hurt later, much later. But right now there was only an aching numbness. Takato wearily leaned his head against his friend's shoulder, pulling his hand out from where it had sunk into a translucent blotch in Jenrya's back. "I…you know why I cry. But…"

** I don't understand it.** Jenrya finished for him. **But maybe understanding isn't what matters anymore, Takato. Knowing why is what does. Besides, you know I can't cry: I can't identify with that feeling.  
**

Takato said nothing, feeling some hiccups coming along.

A perfect imitation of a comforting chuckle. **After today, you won't cry anymore, Takato. There won't be a reason to.**

"After today?" Takato craned his head up to blink in confusion at Jenrya. The other boy gave him that same, serene smile, still holding him. Jenrya wasn't worried. He wasn't because he couldn't. They weren't real emotions, merely fakes. But that didn't matter.

Jenrya was Jenrya now.

_That_ mattered. It mattered a lot.

**Don't you remember? **Jenrya said. **Today we merge.**

Oh. He' forgot about that. Takato wiped the back of his hand across his eyes. He was numb, so very numb. Maybe it because something small inside was broken. He couldn't feel so much now. It didn't hurt as much as before.

**It won't hurt at all after we merge. **Jenrya told him. **You won't feel anything. Isn't that comforting, Takato? Doesn't that make you happy?**

"I-I don't know." Takato was being such a stupid idiot: Jenrya was probably laughing at him because he cried like a baby.

**I'm not laughing at you. I wouldn't do that, not to you. **Jenrya rewarded him with a warm smile. **It's good you let it all out. It's not a bright idea to keep it all pent up. You'd explode otherwise.**

Takato almost started bawling all over again – Jenrya sounded so _real_ now, it was almost painful again.

**Don't cry. It's going to be fine. I'll be there for you when the time is right.**

Would he? Takato would get lost, the lines weren't there because Jenrya had eaten them all up and didn't leave any behind. Because the lines had become Jenrya. Jenrya was made of those boring digital lines. They were gone, gone, gone. They weren't coming back and now there was just a whole lot of black here. There would be nothing to guide him to wherever he was supposed to go.

** You won't need them.** **I'll guide you the rest of the way after we meet again. Now**, **Takato, I need you to listen to me. This is important.**

A muted sound of agreement. Takato was listening.

** When we merge, you'll be conscious for five to ten minutes. Thirty at most. I won't be able to talk to you. When that happens, keep calm. Close your eyes, if it makes you feel any better: but you must stay still, okay? **Okay.** Great. Don't forget. You'll know the merge is beginning when you start to see images from outside. They'll appear on the matrix – that's the heavy thing on your head. It's going to be slow at first, the info you'll be receiving. But you'll start getting more and more, so it might be overwhelming.**

"Will it hurt?" Takato mumbled pensively into the shoulder of Jenrya's black jacket.

**No, it won't. Not in the ways you're thinking of. It won't hurt emotionally or physically. But it will get…**Jenrya trailed off, trying to figure out a way to phrase what he wanted to say in a way the companion system would understand. **…it will get very confusing. It might be scary because you'll be receiving more than you think you can handle. You have to ignore the images, anything you can "see" or "hear". You mustn't let yourself get distracted – ignore everything, don't dwell on any one thing, otherwise you'll get disoriented. Don't get distracted.** Jenrya repeated.

Takato's shoulders slumped. He wouldn't get distracted.

**The first step of the merge is to ignore the vast amounts of info you'll be getting. After that…it's really very easy. You have to ignore everything and, past all those images and sounds, you'll find me again. I'll wait for you.**

So…Takato had to ignore everything: it was only in _nothing_ Jenrya would be there. It was because Jenrya was made up of those digital lines. The lines were made of numbers. Those numbers weren't really there. Jenrya was made up of nothing and so he would wait in nothing.

** I'll show you what to do next. Then you won't be alone. You won't cry, you won't laugh, you won't feel anything anymore. Won't that be a relief? No responsibilities.**

_ No...responsibilities…?_

**None. Zip. Nada**, Jenrya reassured him with a grin. His hold around Takato loosened, allowing the Tamer some breathing space. It looked like the companion system was starting to get his whereabouts, although the brainwaves were still somewhat disjointed and unconnected in areas: a quick scan showed some of these probably wouldn't recover in the near future, too jarred by shock. **Nothing to worry about. You always worry too much, Takato. Lighten up some time – whoever says _I'm_ a worrywart hasn't met you.**

Takato managed a shaky laugh at Jenrya's remark. That was true. Maybe he did worry too much, even though he might go around with a happy grin on his face. You could still be hurting and smile on the outside. "…I'm not a worrywart, Jenrya." _Just a crybaby…_

**Not all the time. Just most of it. And no, you're _not_ a crybaby. Not to me.** Jenrya amended and gently pried Takato away from his shoulder; it ran with static lines as it solidified, dry now and missing the wet stain from the tears earlier. The young Tamer swayed unsteadily on his feet, leaning into the avatar for support. **Are you done crying?** Jenrya asked again, his face still concerned. It was touching Jenrya was worried about him, miserable little Takato, the kid with so many flaws it took a computer four days to catalogue the big ones.

"Y-yeah."

** That'll be the last time you cry, you know. You sure you don't want to have another go?**

Takato almost smiled. "No, not really. I don't really like crying, Jenrya. I hate it when I get a stuffy nose, and my eyes turn all red and irritated."

Jenrya tilted his head curiously. **They're not red now.**

"I know."

After a short pause, Jenrya patted Takato on the shoulder. **You'd better get ready, Takato. **Moving away from the dazed boy, the avatar strode into the darkness. Jenrya was far away when he finally turned around, looking over his shoulder at the companion system, so lost in the endless space around him, and looking small. **Don't forget, Takato. Otherwise you'll just make it harder for yourself. The more attention you pay to the pictures and sounds, the more difficult it'll be. If you concentrate, you won't get lost. I'll wait for you. I'll show the way once you get past.**

Takato nodded dumbly. Without another word, Jenrya turned and, with a nonchalant wave, vanished. The lines were back again as soon as the avatar blipped out, shifting about as if Jenrya hadn't ever eaten them up in the first place. The silly things were too blind to see his friend had ate them and too stupid to care even if he told them. Besides, they couldn't hear him, even if he shouted at the top of his lungs that yes, Jenrya _had_ been here, that he'd eaten all those foolish lines and they hadn't even known it! Takato Matsuda hugged his arms to himself, shivering despite himself. Would he be eaten, used like those poor, stupid lines? Would he be eaten all up? Would he be eaten by Jenrya Lee too, only to be spat out as soon as his friend was done?

Takato hoped not.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ruki?"

Ruki's grandmother poked her head into the room. From her impression, Ruki was sick – the reason she'd stayed in her room all yesterday – and she was worried her granddaughter might be running around with a cold. The living room was empty. She sighed. It looked like Ruki had just left – the TV was still warm after running for a while, she discovered upon laying a hand on its surface. So Ruki hadn't been gone very long then. Her own daughter, too, was absent, probably to a session of modeling again.

_I hope Ruki will be alright_, her grandmother worried. Ruki was so distant these days! Frankly, she thought that part of the blame for the gap was not just on her, but also on her daughter. Her daughter was seeing too many men. Not only that, but she sometimes tried too hard to include Ruki on her outings with her men – which just alienated the girl further, despite the good intentions. Caught up in the bizarre triangle, she was able to take a step back, and _look_ at her daughter and granddaughter.

Put simply, her daughter was too young for parenthood. She didn't know what to do. So far, practically everything that she attempted had always failed, and she tried to lose herself in her work and her men. _She's a good girl though_. Ruki didn't see that however: she just saw her beautiful mother coming home with a new man every few weeks. She only didn't see the pain her mother tried to hide whenever her current boyfriend suddenly found better things to do. _She's just lonely. She wants someone to lean against._

And then there was Ruki. Despite her attempts to avoid being like her mother, she was inevitably so. Like her mother, Ruki was lonely. Her grandmother could see this, how she tried to lose herself in some activity or another. But instead of modeling and men, it was her schoolwork and her card game. She couldn't stand to see her mother flirting with her companions and so she now hated boys. She was everything her mother wasn't (superficially, at least), but when it came down to it, the similarities were still there.

She couldn't help feeling sorry for both her Ruki and her daughter, as well as regret for all the missed opportunities.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki suppressed a sneeze, scowling. It wasn't enough that her throat was still sore – now she was apparently getting sick, too.

Now that she was feeling a little better, she was determined to get to the bottom of this. "This" being what had happened two days ago. It was still freaky, thinking back to it now. It was hard to believe that Takato – innocent, goody two-shoes Takato – could attack her, say those weird things to her.

Wandering about the park, Ruki kept herself alert. She didn't know if Takato might be lurking about, waiting for her to drop her guard – she had a feeling that the kid was long gone though – and walking alone like this, she could present a tempting target. _Why didn't Jenrya tell me Takato got his goggles back?_

Ruki made her way through the grove of trees, her gray uniform blending in and out of the shadows. It hadn't been a hard decision to play hooky. She simply pretended to be sick so her grandmother wouldn't start asking questions, and took off as soon as she could sneak out. Her clothes, however, were all in the wash: her grandmother had been surprised when she'd staggered home caked in mud. But she hadn't asked questions, instead herding her granddaughter off to the bathroom and sweeping away with the dirty jeans and shirt.

"Ruki?"

Ruki glanced up at the familiar voice. Waiting for her partner, Renamon was leaning against a tree trunk only a few yards away.

"Any luck finding Impmon?" Ruki asked as she caught up.].

Renamon shook her head, falling into step with her Tamer. "No. The area's just too large for me to cover alone, Ruki – there are thousands of places he could be hiding."

"Stubborn twerp," Ruki grumbled. Her voice was still a bit husky, but the day off had done her wonders. "But I've a feeling he won't be of much help, now that we've found Takato." They were approaching sensitive territory now. Renamon's voice was a low, dangerous monotone.

"I find it hard to believe he had it in him."

"Me too. I'm wondering why he did it."

Renamon stopped in her tracks, turning to gaze down at Ruki. The Tamer paused, watching as her partner looked about for a proper way to say something that looked important. Although Renamon was usually composed and cool, her snout was working around her fangs as she avoided the girl's eyes in a slightly nervous gesture. This was going to be awkward, but she felt she had to say it, no matter how unsure she felt about her partner's reaction. Her inhuman eyes fixing on Ruki.

"I'm glad you're alright."

Ruki looked away, her cheeks flushing. Her stare focused somewhere else, suddenly self-conscious. "I…it's not really important. We need to find out what's the deal with Takato." She cleared her throat. "…But….thanks, Renamon."

Renamon nodded. Although her fox's face was unreadable, she was feeling a rather strange emotion as she turned her attention on her Tamer. It was rare for Ruki to give thanks (or praise) to anyone, much less her Digimon partner. But Ruki was changing now – even if she herself wasn't aware of it. _Maybe for the better._ .

"Okay, this is far enough." Ruki plunked herself down on the damp ground. Renamon dutifully kneeled down as her Tamer tried to get things straight. "I hate to sound like Jenrya, but we've got to be objective about this."

"I can see the merit in that."

"Right. What we know: Takato isn't acting very Takato-ish. He attacked me, stole his own D-Arc, led us to a wild Digimon, and somehow got his goggles back from Jenrya." Ruki counted off each point on her fingers as Renamon nodded. "Also, Guilmon wasn't with him. He's been missing for almost a week. We found his D-Arc, some of his cards and his goggles at Tokyo Tower."

"Guilmon didn't seem to know where Takato went, therefore Takato never told him," Renamon added.

"What we don't know: why Takato felt the need to attack me for his D-Arc. Why Jenrya didn't tell me. Where Takato ran off to before or even where he is now. Also, I'm still puzzled about his whole disappearance in the first place. It's fishy."

"Didn't Jenrya say the night he disappeared, he left through his window? I don't see how he could have done that, unless he jumped."

"That a two-story drop, Renamon. He would've broken _something_ if he didn't do the brilliant thing and land on his head."

"True."

Ruki shifted in her position – her school uniform's skirt was starting to get wet from the damp ground. "I don't know what to say. Nothing seems to connect. Either Takato's snapped or something, or there's another explanation that's escaping me at the moment."

"It would be better for his own well-being if it's the latter." Renamon said – she buffed her claws on her fur coat, seemingly nonchalant, though her voice clearly stated she would carry the hidden threat out if necessary.

"I'm going to have to tell Jenrya. I mean, I know Takato's his friend and all, but this is too important." Ruki drew her knees up to her chest, frowning to herself. "None of this is making any sense at all. And it was kinda weird how Takato led us on that chase too."

"Almost as if he knew where he was taking us."

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It neared the end of school when Jenrya finally found himself alone with Ryo. The new guy and him had clean-up duty. Usually he disliked having to stay behind, but at the moment, he was actually glad he'd gotten an opportunity to talk to Ryo without having to worry about others overhearing. It would be easier this way. He had some questions of his own he wanted to ask.

Mr. Mori shrugged into a sweater, glancing at the two boys left in the room. "I'm going to run downstairs for a meeting. I'll be back in twenty minutes. You can start by making sure no one left behind anything. Check under the desks."

"Sure." Ryo shrugged.

"I'll be right back."

The door slid shut as Mr. Mori left the room. Jenrya turned to regard Ryo, frowning thoughtfully as he watched the other boy sweep the floor. Golden sunlight, deepening gradually to red as the sun sank lower, tumbled through the glass panes of the windows. The teacher's footsteps long faded away by the time Ryo finally glanced over the handle of his broom at Jenrya, raising an eyebrow as if just noticing the other boy's scrutiny.

"Well? What d'you want?"

Jenrya didn't return the grin. "What were you trying to say to me this morning, Akiyama?"

_ Swish. Swish_. Back and forth the broom went.

"I was wondering if you played Digimon."

"You know that's not what I meant." Jenrya scowled across the room at Ryo. "You know perfectly well what you're talking about."

Ryo continued sweeping. "Maybe I do, Lee. But maybe I don't." He held up a finger before Jenrya could interrupt him. Jenrya closed his mouth, his eyebrows drawing together. "All I did was give you a warning. I'll be blunt: how long have you been doing this? Do you even know what you've gotten yourself into?"

"Long enough that I know what I'm doing," Jenrya replied. So Ryo knew what he was talking about, like he'd expected – he'd been playing games earlier, teasing him by taunting him with hints. Like he was testing the waters. Ryo knew Digimon wasn't only a game. And that made Jenrya all the more suspicious: was Ryo an ally, then? Or a potential enemy? Jenrya couldn't be sure. "How come you know about Digimon?"

Ryo turned his back on Jenrya with a tense smile and a shrug.

"Does it matter? The thing is, I'm well-versed about them." _Swish. Swish. _"And you're not. Just because you're aware of the fact that _this_ is reality doesn't mean that you're prepared for what's coming. Just because you know _what_ Digimon are doesn't mean you know _how_ or _why_. So, no, I don't think you know what you're doing. On top of that, there's something wrong with your way of thinking."

"And what would that be?"

Ryo leaned his broom against the windowsill, half-sitting on it as he regarded Jenrya. "Digimon and humans weren't meant to go hand in hand, know what I mean? It's like peanut butter and pickles: they simply don't mix. It's wrong and it doesn't work." Ryo folded his hands over his chest, staring at Jenrya with an almost bitter expression on his tanned face. "You're only going to find yourself up to your ears with problems the longer you try to tame one."

"For your information, I never 'tamed' Terriermon," Jenrya said frostily.

"Hey, whatever makes it easier to swallow," Ryo shrugged. "You can believe whatever you want. However, I can give you some advice. Maybe you haven't noticed, but the wild Digimon are increasing in numbers. You can't beat all of them, no matter how hard you try. On top of that, you can't tame a Digimon. Sooner or later he's bound to go feral on you. And it'll be at the worst time possible."

"I find this hard to believe."

"Look, you shouldn't involve yourself with something that can backfire on you. You're in over your head."

Jenrya fought to keep his composure from breaking: everything this stranger said went against everything he believed and he could only feel a slowly smoldering anger aimed Ryo. But he had to keep calm, despite the fact that a muscle in his face was ticking. Terriermon wouldn't turn into one of those wild Digimon they encountered. _This guy has some major problems to be spouting this stuff_, Jenrya thought to himself, his gray eyes fixed on the black ones of the new student. And how was he over his head? It didn't look like Ryo was going to enlighten him.

"I'm not gonna keep hammering you over the head with this. I might be new to this school, but I'm not new to Shinjuku or Tokyo. I'm not some hick from Osaka, so don't assume I don't agree with you 'cause I'm an 'outsider'. I'm not the bad guy here." Ryo snorted. "Of course you're not going to take my word for it."

"I don't see why I should."

A cynical smirk as Ryo turned to face him. "I have experience if that means anything. More than you, that's for certain. For one thing, _I_ know where the wild Digimon come from. I've been there."

Jenrya felt his mouth start to drop open in a surprised gape. Angrily he clamped it shut. This was insane! How could Ryo know where _they_ came from? Jenrya didn't know, Ruki didn't know, and he was pretty sure Takato didn't know either. And, up till now, he'd been convinced they were the only three who knew about the existence of Digimon. Well, up until Ryo swaggered into his class. It was mind-boggling. Just how many people knew of Digimon? And what about the wild ones? How come no one seemed to do anything about them?

"Way I see it, you've got a timebomb next to you with your partner. Digimon can't be tamed. No matter how nice you are to them, how much leeway you give to them, they just can't get along with us. They can't or they won't. They might behave for a bit, but they'll become wild eventually. Hell, I've certainly tried," Ryo's mouth tightened. "I'd be better off trying to warn some of your friends, but it looks like one of them's gone and disappeared on me."

Jenrya froze.

Ryo pushed himself away from the window and picked up his coat from where he'd tossed it over someone's desk. He shrugged into it. "Really too bad. He probably wasn't as stubborn as you. Still, I'd be careful if _I_ saw him again…"

Jenrya glared at Ryo. This guy definitely knew something – perhaps he knew what had happened to Takato? Or…maybe _he_ had a hand in all the weird things happening recently. At this point, Jenrya wouldn't be surprised by anything and was ready to expect the unexpected. After all, it looked like Ryo, somehow, knew about Jenrya and his friends: no doubt he knew all three had Digimon, what they'd fought against so far. From the sounds of it, Ryo also had an idea of what they might be up against.

Only Jenrya kept getting the impression there would be strings attached.

"I gotta get home." Ryo headed for the door, his boots thudding on the floor. Reaching it, he glanced over at Jenrya: for a moment, an unreadable expression crossed his face. It was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. "See you around."

And then Ryo left.

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Closer. _Is it coming closer?_

Yes. _It's almost time._

Takato hugged his knees to his chest, resting his cheek on them as he stared at the ever-changing shapes. They really weren't that bad, now that he thought about it. They couldn't help being what they were. And everything was okay, because when Jenrya came to eat them, they never knew what was happening. Everything was okay.

_Any time now_, Takato mused. The merge would be starting soon and he needed to be ready for it. It would be a big surprise, the transition from this digital plane to the Real World, but he would be ready, just like he'd promised Jenrya.

**Five minutes remaining and counting, companion system.**

Glancing up at the arc of digital lines overhead, Takato blinked owlishly. Hard to imagine four days had already passed – so fast, too! But there was still an eternity before he would have to meet Jenrya again. Takato tried to remember what Jenrya told him. _I'll find Jenrya. He said he'll wait for me. _And Jenrya would, because Jenrya also kept his promises.

Jenrya knew what he was doing. He knew everything because he had access to the entire Tokyo network.

Takato admired Jenrya a great deal.

**Three minutes remaining and counting.**

Despite what Jenrya told him, Takato still had to wonder how intense the first part of the merge would be. It sounded just as confusing as his friend described to him – would he be strong enough to ignore the distractions, like Jenrya seemed to think he was? He hoped so. It was up to Takato to do his part.

**One minute remaining and counting.**

Takato closed his eyes, concentrating. It was coming.

The Real World was coming for him one last time.

His glazed eyes blinked for the first time in several days as Takato "woke up", shunted out of the digital plane with no warning. A gasp ripped through him, the kind from someone drowning. Takato couldn't see anything. _Where…?_ It sank in as he sucked in a breath. He was in the Juggernaut – somewhere, he vaguely remembered this seat, the gross sensation of wires worming their way into his skin. It felt like someone else's lifetime ago.

_Jenrya?_

No answer. Of course there wasn't one – Jenrya told him that he couldn't talk with him. It was just Takato. He would have to sit tight and stay quiet until the merge started. Still, there were a thousand things bugging him now that he was fully conscious. For one thing, his throat was awfully dry, like someone decided to pour a pound of dust down it. Swallowing carefully, he began to work moisture back into his mouth as he took interest of his surroundings.

I_t's…it's amazing._ The Juggernaut completely engulfed him; he could literally feel it moving around. _Is this what it feels like to be eaten?_ Maybe. The lines had never told him. It was very warm here, very crowded. Around him, things were in constant motion, shifting. The coil around his neck was throbbing gently, but it wasn't tight. He could breathe well enough, but that was about it.

This was reality as it was. It was here Jenrya couldn't go: this was what Takato was for. He had a potential for "power", like the Juggernaut told him.

_ It's nice to know Jenrya needs me._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Jenrya left the building only to suffer another surprise: Ruki, the last person he had expected to see, was waiting for him, the pony-tailed Tamer leaning against lamppost just outside of the school grounds near the street.

She had been watching Jenrya since he'd left the school. There was something in his step that told her he was agitated about something. Now what?

"What's the matter?"

Jenrya scowled, glancing at her for the first time. He ignored her question, returning it with one of his own. "What're you doing here, Ruki?" His eyebrows knit in confusion as he noticed something. "And what's wrong with your voice? You sound hoarse."

"If you'd _stop_ and let me talk, I'd tell you." Ruki spat back. Just because Jenrya was mad about something didn't mean that she'd sit here and take it. "Look, I need to talk to you in private. It's important."

Without another word, Jenrya led her around the campus, moving quickly about the perimeter of the school grounds until he had come upon a cramped corridor between two of the main buildings. The alley ended in a dead end, but he was positive that no one would overhear their conversation. Jenrya was surprised when she fixed an angry glare on him.

"Jenrya, _why_ aren't you returning my calls? And why didn't you tell me Takato stopped by your place?'

Jenrya's eyebrows shot up and for a moment he completely forgot he was angry at Ryo. What was she talking about? Had she found Takato? Jenrya was completely lost and he held up his hands in a gesture to slow down. "Hold on! When did Takato stop by my apartment?"

Ruki was taken aback. She'd been so sure that Jenrya might have some answers.

"Well, he picked up his goggles, didn't he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. They're still on my desk." Jenrya frowned. "Where'd you get the idea Takato went to my place?"

Ruki kicked the crate she was currently sitting on with the back of her heel, thoroughly frustrated. "When I saw him last, he had them. So I assumed he'd gotten them from you."

"You _saw_ him? Why didn't you call me?" Jenrya exclaimed.

"Hey, I _tried_. I spent all morning trying to contact you!"

"I was trying to call _you_ yesterday!" Jenrya exclaimed.

Ruki smiled bitterly, gesturing to her neck. "Yeah, I wasn't exactly in a position to pick it up then."

Jenrya's confusion doubled as he noticed the ugly, purple bruises on the girl's throat. Alarm bells went off. When had this happened? Why didn't Ruki tell him she was hurt? _She needs a doctor or something. _Ruki really shouldn't be walking around like that, she should get some treatment, and he told her as much.

"I'm fine. Besides, if I went to a doctor, they'd start asking a bunch of stupid questions. It'd be way too awkward."

Jenrya was incredulous. "How can you be fine? Who did this to you? What happened? And what does Takato have to do with this?"

"I came to you hoping I'd get some answers," Ruki gazed at a point past Jenrya as she continued. "But I guess I might as well start here. First off, I'm _fine_. Don't treat me like I'm some kind of baby. I can take care of myself." She took a breath, collecting himself. "Two days ago I saw Takato –"

"Where?"

"Near the park. Now stop interrupting me!" Ruki glowered at Jenrya until he raised his hands in submission before continuing. "As I was saying, I saw Takato. Actually, Renamon saw him before I did. He was acting all weird, Jenrya. Like…well, it's hard to explain. Very unTakato-ish. For some reason, he was staring at me with this really creepy look." Ruki's eyes narrowed, trying to recall the exact order of events. "As soon as I saw him, he turned and ran into the park. I went after him, but he gave both of us a good chase."

"He shouldn't have been able to outrun you, much less Renamon…"

"You say something?"

"Nothing."

"You can mumble whatever you want _after_ I'm done. Jeez. Anyway, we went after him – I wanted to ask where he'd vanished off to, but from the way he was moving, it seemed like he wanted us to follow him. He led us near the playground – you know which one I'm talking about – and then a wild Digimon appeared. We had to deal with Greymon before we could deal with Takato. I was too busy trying to help Renamon to notice that he was kind of sidling closer to me: actually, I thought he was trying to get out of Renamon's way…but that wasn't the case…" Ruki shook her head, her expression darkening.

This didn't sound at all like Takato: his friend just wouldn't act at all like this, especially not when his parents were so worried about him.

"Takato attacked me," Ruki said coolly. Jenrya stared. "I ended up falling down because he surprised me. He started choking me, which is where these," here she pointed at the healing bruises on her neck, "came from. I think he was trying to prevent me from fighting back, because he pretty much killed my backpack stealing his own D-Arc. What idiot would steal something that's his to begin with? He said a bunch of weird stuff to me afterward and then he vanished off somewhere. Kyuubimon couldn't find him."

Jenrya ran his hands through his cropped blue hair, trying to figure out what this meant. This wasn't what he'd been expecting, and, with a jolt, he realized Ryo had indirectly warned him this might happen. Ryo knew something was wrong, but he hadn't said anything, had only given him that bizarre little remark. _"…still, I'd be careful if _I_ saw him again"._ Jenryawearily scrubbed at his eyes.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I'm not really sure. I'd have a hard time believing this if you weren't sitting here right in front of me," Jenrya replied. "You know as well as I that he'd never do anything like this."

"But he did. Nice conclusion, Sherlock."

"There's only so much I can do with what I've been told, I'm not going to automatically come up with answers out of nowhere. What I _do_ know is that Takato wouldn't hurt you deliberately. My impression is whoever you saw wasn't Takato." Jenrya's mouth tightened. "Besides, how could he have gotten his goggles back? I'm thinking whoever attacked you was some sort of fake – we've seen stranger things, so I wouldn't be surprised." Jenrya sucked in a hissing breath, letting it out in an exasperated whoosh. "You know, someone warned me about this."

Ruki was immediately on her guard. "Who?"

"A new kid in my class. Ryo Akiyama. I got a chance to talk to him after school and…I didn't really agree with what he was saying." Well, that was an understatement, but it didn't really matter. "He told me to back off. Said Terriermon was a bad influence. I don't suppose you've heard of him?"

"Ryo Akiyama? Doesn't ring a bell."

"He said he knows where these wild Digimon come from, but he didn't tell me. He's not exactly a bubbling fountain of information. You want to know my personal opinion?" Jenrya said. "I think he's involved in this whole thing. There's just no other way to explain it: and he's not exactly being helpful. He only told me to be careful if I saw Takato again, but he didn't even say why."

Ruki frowned. "What if he's really on our side? We'd be wasting time pointing fingers at the wrong person. At this point we're undermanned, in case you haven't noticed."

"All I know is it's too convenient he happens to transfer to my school," Jenrya said. Ryo had known about both him and Takato. It sounded like he wanted to make contact. _But why now?_ He wouldn't know, not until he'd talked to Ryo again.

Ryo was right. They _would_ be seeing each other again.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Where was Jenrya?

It must have been at least half an hour since Takato had found himself, again, in the embrace of the Juggernaut. If time seemed to crawl in the digital plane, then it must have completely stopped here. Where was the Juggernaut? Where was Jenrya? Wasn't he supposed to be somewhere now? Of course his questions went unanswered – before, the Juggernaut had been able to read whatever he thought or felt, and not much later, Jenrya had done the same thing. But neither were responding to his thoughts now. It had been almost comforting to "hear" another being. _This_ was just plain creepy. He didn't enjoy having to listen to the creaks of the Juggernaut's coils against each other, the dull rasping sounds of metal against metal.

At least he wasn't being crushed.

_The merge should be starting soon._ Takato wasn't looking forward to it, but he couldn't disappoint his Jenrya, not after he'd made that promise not to get distracted, to find his way to Jenrya's nothing. _Well_, an unstable smile, _they always say "no pain, no gain"_. Although that probably couldn't really apply to his current situation, because Jenrya had assured him that he would feel no pain. _I guess it's really just the principle then._

Takato was felt disconnected. As if he wasn't really all here. Like he wasn't really a part of the world he knew had to be outside. Takato couldn't imagine what he might've been like if he hadn't followed Guilmon so blindly that night. Wait…but was it Guilmon? Had Guilmon brought him here? Or someone else? Takato couldn't be sure. Did it even matter?

_No. It doesn't matter._

_That_ was a relief. If everything started to matter again, he'd probably go crazy. A chuckle escaped his lips, chapped from disuse. It wound its way through the coils above him, around him, below him and was finally lost in the silence. He didn't want to go crazy. Jenrya wouldn't like it. Jenrya liked him the way he was, after all.

He already missed Jenrya. His family and friends were already a dull, faceless mass in his memory – but Jenrya Lee was very clear, so sharp he was unreal. Everything about him was burned into the young Tamer's memory: those too-clear gray eyes, that blue hair, the holes and splotches of fuzziness that wouldn't quite go away, the scar on his knuckle he'd gotten from a soda can because he hadn't been paying attention and cut himself on it. He had bled and bled for a little bit before Takato had enough time to drag him over to the school nurse, apologizing profusely. Takato was very sorry about that too, that scar that had been his doing. It had been because Takato had been talking, showing Jenrya some new drawings that Jenrya had cut himself. So it was his fault that Jenrya had that tiny, itty bitty scar across his knuckle. At least Jenrya wasn't mad at him.

And that was all that mattered. As long as he did whatever made Jenrya happy, Jenrya wouldn't leave him. Takato wouldn't be alone.

_I don't want to be alone._ Takato shuddered. It was bad enough he was alone right now. He couldn't see anything because of the matrix resting over his eyes, blocking his vision. It was pitch-black. Even if the lines were to return, he wouldn't be able to see them. He really _was_ alone._ I don't want to be alone forever._

Jenrya wouldn't leave him. Bolstering his own faith was rather easy, considering how much he liked the other Tamer. Jenrya was reliable (unlike Takato), Jenrya had patience (unlike Ruki), Jenrya also cared for him – after all, he'd been nice enough to spend four days cataloguing everything wrong with Takato, trying to point the problems out so it might be possible to fix them. Takato wouldn't be fixing his flaws though. Jenrya would.

To be honest, Takato couldn't help feeling scared. Yeah, he knew he wasn't a little kid anymore, but still. Jenrya waiting for him would make it slightly easier, but it didn't make him any less scared. But the stuff before? Would there be just too much to handle? Or would it be the things he would hear and see themselves that would be too much? Unfortunately, Jenrya hadn't been very specific about that, so he had no way of knowing.

Takato was so wrapped up in his thoughts that at first he didn't notice the small image beginning to come into focus. By the time he noticed, the number had become two: the pictures were each different, but they were definitely there. Takato could see them. It was just like Jenrya told him.

It was starting.

**To be continued…**

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	10. Omnipresence

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon. This is for fun,  
**Author's Note**: Third season, centered around Takato and Jenrya and Ryo. Switches to the other characters from time to time. Takes just before Yamaki sets forth his Juggernaut plan (like, a day or two before the Juggernaut is activated. Don't really know the exact episode, guess between Episodes 12 and 14) **departs from canon from there and goes off in a different direction **

**Archive**: Sure, if you want.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold **for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Omnipresence)

The merge started.

Takato struggled to remind himself to stay calm as he warily eyed the two images in darkness covering his eyes. The two moving pictures were innocent enough. The one to his far right was just a little girl in a swing. The other was feed frm a security camera in a department store: shoppers milled about in the rotating image as the lens swiveled. Another feed blipped on. Was this really from the outside? Takato blinked, focusing his gaze on the three images. They must be.

_Is this what the Juggernaut sees? _The Juggernaut couldn't see. But Jenrya could.

So was this what Jenrya could see with his eyes that were everywhere?_  
_

Another image popped in, two others fuzzing in right after it. There was more colors, more _everything_, and he couldn't watch all of this at once. He thought he could _hear_ something now; if Takato concentrated, the incoming sound became a bit clearer and more coherent. From his impression, it sounded like a heated fight between a man and a woman. The two voices were louder as Takato listened. He jumped as there was a resounding slap and then an outraged cry. What happened? Who slapped who? _Is this what people outside do?_ It was scary: two grown adults resorting to violence when words didn't work. A horrifying thought. Did _parents _do that?

Did his parents do that? Did they hit each other too when they got mad?

The sobs didn't fade away. Instead they were joined by more sounds, crowding in about Takato as he struggled to take in everything coming through the matrix, filtering in faster and faster. People, machines, animals, plants. _Everything_ he could see and hear, but it was so confusing.A glimpse of a young girl skipping rope. The sounds of a siren, followed by the blood curdling sound of an air raid alarm from decades ago. Japan had once been in a great war for its honor, fought against the Americans and their allies. This war ended a long long long time ago. Jenrya knew of it and now Takato knew about it, right to the stuff that was still classified.

Documents on encoded files laid bare before him, hundreds upon hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Behind the matrix, Takato's unfocused eyes flicked back and forth as the images continued to assault him.

_ Do my parents hit each other?_

_ Was Jenrya alive to see these wars?_

_ Do people really do things like _that_ when they're alone?_

These were the memories of the city.

Tokyo was alive with information. It would take several lifetimes for a human to sort through even a quarter of what was here: Tokyo's past memories, the present and the coming future could be felt. Takato could feel a dull buzz thundering in his skull. A man in his mid-twenties sank to the ground, his blood seeping into his jacket from a gaping wound in his side. Takato saw the one who did it too, seeing both the victim and the assailant as if from two different sets of eyes. People died even as he sat here. Now there was the surprised cry of a baby opening her eyes for the first time in a hospital. So many people being born too. But their lives were so short…

_ People are born only to die._

Takato wanted to shut his eyes against the onslaught. There was too much color, too much to see! He couldn't focus on anything – everything was moving, sliding over the still pictures and sitting on one another as more joined in. A boy participating in a debate to get ready for some sort of competition. Hissing static weaving in and out as one TV channel had to report technical difficulties to its unfortunate viewers, the announcer apologizing. The sounds were from everywhere! Was this what Jenrya saw? Was he such a powerful, omnipotent being he could control what Takato was now seeing?

_This, this, this – how can people be like this? How can Jenrya see all of this at once? _How could his friend make any sense of this? It was going to swallow Takato, suck him into the confusion and force him to apply meaning to each and every thing he heard and saw. This was too much for him to handle alone.

_People are born only to die._

Humans have such short life spans.

"…High winds can be expected tonight..."

For some reason, _Homo sapiens _are one of the few, if only, species to commit suicide.

_Suicide…?_

Suicide (adjective) – the act of intentionally killing oneself; one who commits suicide.

How could Takato find Jenrya in nothing? He was surrounded by everything! There were more and more pictures now. Takato had only to look in on one or listen to a particular whispering voice through the crowd to feel the information start to filter into his mind. A dry, withered cackle. This particular old woman found the perfect gift for her husband and intended to surprise him as soon as he got back from work. A photo of a girl in somber black flickered into view. She died recently, having drowned in an accident because she was drunk behind the wheel when she missed the turn and plunged off the road. Suddenly _knowing _why made Takato wonder what it would be like to die like that, to drown. Would it hurt as much as getting eaten by Jenrya? Would it hurt? Would it hurt a lot?

"Don't you _dare _show your face to me!"

Someone shoplifting from the department store. Takato saw it, just as his "eyes" in the security camera saw it. The man's name was Junichi Iwaaki, two children, age thirty-five, five foot seven, one hundred eighty pounds. The view turned slowly as the lens rotated. Security coming to pick the man up. He would get in trouble.

"Mom, I have to write this proof, and…"

The next Olympics would be held in Dallas, Texas.

…International news: the President of the United States will be impeached for…

There was an affair.

People were dying even now. And more were being born to replace those gone.

_Does Jenrya see like this? Does he see everything? Is this why he knows everything?_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

"Wow, will you look at that?" Someone breathed.

Jenrya turned.A young man was staring as a small crowd clustered around him, staring at something. On an overhead sign, the lights flickered on and off. The electronics in the store's display blinked on and off in time with the sign's neon lettering. Was something wrong with the power? In fact, it looked like everything in the area was acting up. Down the street, a restaurant's windows glared black and orange as the lights inside turned on again, only to shut off. Jenrya cast a glance at his watch. The numbers cycled in rapid spurts.

His watch was reading in binary?

Jenrya frowned as he looked up again at the flashing store. What in the world was going on?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Takato wanted to shut out everything. Shut off his eyes, shut off his ears, and turn off his brain.

What made it worse was the fact he knew why people did what they did. The knowledge filtered into his mind as new sounds and images crowded each other out. The pictures always brought some sort of understanding. Could he close his eyes, blind himself from all of this? No, they wouldn't respond to his command. Why wasn't Jenrya here? Photos were being scanned and put on web sites. Photos of people doing funny things in them. A sound of a scream from somewhere and then several gunshots. A hand-held video camera taping a family outing to the Sunshine 60.

Everything came in so fast. Thousands – no, _millions_– of faces. Millions of sounds.

There was just too much. He understood too much.

_ Jenrya!_

Jenrya wasn't here. Jenrya was waiting for him in nothing. Takato was surrounded by _everything_. Nothing was so very far away. Would it even be possible, to bypass all of this attacking his senses of sight and hearing? A human couldn't take in this much. Takato was human. Jenrya wasn't. But Jenrya needed him precisely because he was human. But how could he break free? Bits of the past getting mixed with the present. Bits and pieces, like broken china. Like so much broken china.

Something was already broken in Takato. It ruptured further.

Takato couldn't be here. Shouldn't be.

The matrix swarmed him with the overwhelming noises, the pictures too clear and vivid. There were so many faces. So many dead, cold faces. So many people dying. And so many didn't care that there was a sea of dead. In the morgue, there were thousands of dead, cataloged on shelves – some where going to be cut open. They slept in their shelves. Deaths from old age, heart attacks, accidents, jealous husbands and wives…the people in white lab coats taking pictures of the dead for their files. _Snap _went the camera and then the angle changed for another photo. Takato saw what the camera saw as its flash went off. Another dead face. This one died from loss of blood, but it had been on purpose.

Humans were always dying. Humans committed suicide.

The only strength humans had was their technology and numbers.

And even that could be taken away from them.

The sea of dead faces, hidden behind the metal doors of their shelves, smearing away, only to be replaced with even more to see and hear. These were from the outside. There was no run to squirm away from this overload of knowledge. The subways were off schedule. Buses weren't moving anymore. Lights turning on and off, faster and faster. Everything moving. There were horns, curses, sirens, shouts. Thousands passed each other, never stopping as the crowds went along the sidewalks. They were so ignorant, so very lucky. Takato envied them. They weren't breaking into pieces. They weren't sitting here.

He knew too much now. More information spilling into him, torrents of images and noises. Takato instinctively tried to fight against it. The dead faces intermingling with the living. After all, the dead had just as much to say as the living. But they were locked away because they couldn't help but be cold and lifeless. Like a bunch of rocks. Like Jenrya. Jenrya was warm to the touch but Jenrya had holes. Jenrya wasn't alive in the outside world. Jenrya loved to eat things up because it made him powerful. Jenrya had to eat to become Jenrya. And Jenrya, too, saw what he saw.

_Am I a companion system? Is that all?_

_ Just a tool? Has being human ever meant anything?_

The faces blended into one another. Everyone was gone. But their memories remained and became ghosts. The computers didn't care and the Juggernaut cared least of all. The Juggernaut had been tampered with, long ago. A woman named Kincaid saw to it. But she wasn't a human at all. She was a lot stronger than that.

There were others. There was Jenrya, who wasn't really Jenrya. There was also a boy named Ryo Akiyama, who had been MIA and was back. The records said he should've been dead. Obviously they were wrong. And then there were the Digimon. Everything fell together. It made so much sense.

People were dying even now. And more would die in the future. Everything was based on death and rebirth.

So much made sense now as the images came in even greater numbers. _They_ would invade this world. _They_ would rule the future. And Takato would be one of the key points in opening the weakening rift in Tokyo, it was all that stood between entry from the Digital World and the Real World. There really _was _a Digital World. It wasn't just a game at all, but he already knew because Jenrya told him that it wasn't and his friend knew everything because he saw all. Jenrya knew of the sister who had broken her brother's toy dog. Jenrya had already heard of the murder that had just happened a few minutes ago in the outskirts of Shinjuku. Jenrya saw the passing of decades through Tokyo's eyes.

There was an organization called "Hypnos". It was founded on contrasting ideas: good intentions and hate.

The founder was a man named Yamaki Mitsuo. Except his name wasn't Mitsuo. It was Asamiya. But he was Mitsuo now. He made Hypnos. The secret organization cast a watchful eye toward the Digital World, but even Yamaki's foresight would fail him because of those working behind his back. Yamaki Mitsuo had been labeled a potential danger in computer banks and the knife was already in his back, it only needed a turn. Yamaki once had a niece. Takato felt his real body like it was far way. There was too much to take in and it was impossible to try to ignore everything.

Where was nothing? Jenrya could make the world nothing if he was ordered to. His influence could grow in a few years, expanding far beyond Tokyo. Several countries possessed nuclear weapons. Jenrya could destroy the world several times over if it was commanded – but _they _didn't want a dead world. A dead one was useless. Takato would be useless without Jenrya. The Juggernaut told him that they were bonded and it was so. Jenrya had been made to be perfect and Takato was born with flaws. They would mesh well.

The merge went as scheduled.

It was a struggle to keep up with what was being thrown at Takato. There was so much he now knew, more that was he beginning to understand. He knew the pressure within, the pressure in the back of his mind, would keep on growing until it would break. Already the cracks were there. If it broke, everything would pass over him, like a wave. Would it be over? If he stopped fighting, would it all be over?

There was more. Ryo Akiyama was also a potential danger to the programmed goal. He had been to the Digital World before, and, unlike the others, he'd made it back home, the only human to do it. That alone made him dangerous. Ryo knew what happened several years ago, he knew of the eight children who went _in_ but never returned. They were dead, cold like those bodies in the morgue. They hadn't been strong enough. Everything had been covered up. It had been an experiment and the test subjects had never been told they were participating in one. They died without knowing _why_.

But Ryo wouldn't be hunted because his partner was no longer with him. Ryo was safe. Just a human without his muscle.

_ There was a hunt…?_

Yes, a hunt. A hunt that ended four years ago when a little girl and her uncle were attacked by a Musyamon. But it would begin again soon. The cycle would begin again and this time it wouldn't be the cleanup of an experiment. This was the real thing.

This was what the Juggernaut was programmed for. Takato was everywhere – everything he saw and heard was from all around the huge sprawl of Tokyo. Kaminmon lurking about the shadows, searching for another Digimon. Kincaid looking at her malfunctioning watch with a delighted grin. And a third was resting in a large room behind locked doors, Kincaid's precious ring sitting on a table as he sat on his fore and hind legs, purple tail swishing lazily. Relieved to be in his real body for a change.

The images switched elsewhere. Everything began a long time ago. Everything was planned. Jenrya would need to eat more and more to have enough energy to breach the barriers between the Worlds. The Juggernaut told him all of this, that day when the greyhound bowed its head in submission to let him pet it. But only now did he understand.

The pressure was almost at a breaking point.

_ If I stop struggling against this…_

What would happen?

_ …would I find Jenrya?_

Or would he only be carried away, thrown about and battered by so much knowledge, by everything that he saw and heard?

_If everything sweeps over me, if I submit…_

He was close to breaking. There wasn't much time to make a decision.

There was no turning back. Waves of information crashed, meaningless as they buffeted him. Sounds were attacking Takato from all directions.

_Is there a choice?_

No. There was never a choice, especially here. "Choice" wasn't subject to argument.

_Jenrya will be with me, I won't be alone._

Takato was needed. Jenrya couldn't do this without him. Jenrya waited.

_ But if I _am_ eaten, if I chose wrong, will Jenrya reject me? Will he ever stop needing me?_

That wasn't possible. Takato was too important to this whole plan – his Will had been the strongest out of the three Tamers. He was targeted first.

_ The others? Are they worried?_

It didn't matter. It was too late.

_I won't be able to cry or smile. I'll be alone if Jenrya isn't there. And if he isn't…_

Everything shattered, spots of blue dancing in his vision.

_I'll break._

This was a one-way street Takato walked. He depended on Jenrya now: if he submitted, Jenrya would have to be there, for all time and then some. Whatever it took to make sure he wasn't lonely.

He couldn't see, couldn't hear. The pressure blinded him, making Takato blissfully deaf. _No one will care. It won't matter. Everyone will keep dying and living regardless of what happens to me_.

_So then this is it. This is how it will turn out. _Takato could feel his mind start to go lax. The information still coming through was a dull pounding sensation and Takato couldn't be hurt if he couldn't feel anything. There was only the numbness and Jenrya. Everything else faded away. Any remaining mental barriers were smashed in as everything at once – Tokyo's network of people, of machines – forced its way in. Remaining memories fought against the flow of information and were swept away by the force of the tide.

And then it was over. There was nothing. He found it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Outside, the city was in chaos. Lights blinked on and off for the past three hour, gotten faster and faster, like thousands of demented strobe lights. Cars spun as their internal computers suddenly went out, careening to a stop. People were stranded in the subways. Buses crashed into whatever was in front of them. The TV screens glowing, blinding anyone nearby as the light intensified. Computer monitors went haywire, overrun with green binary. But in this room, it was dark. Nothing was happening.

Ryo Akiyama went with the easiest route. Rather than panic or stand there gaping, he'd simply unplugged everything in his room. It was quiet. Still, he could hear the earth-shattering noise outside the bedroom. Every now and then there was a crash, followed by the tinkling of broken glass. Far off to the east he could see a thick, greasy cloud of black smoke rising up against the night sky. Something was burning. Ryo gazed out the open window.

To some people, it might seem like the end of the world. A snort. _This is nothing. _Ryo didn't know why everything was acting up, but he had his own suspicions. It probably had something to do with what he'd heard in the Digital World, when he had returned for the last time. Could this be the beginning of this "grand move", which would be remembered in history? If that was the case, then this really was nothing. It would be over soon.

And then the rest of the population would get on with their lives.

Ryo closed the window after awhile. Since earlier today, he'd been thinking back to his conversation with the kid, Jenrya. Jenrya confused him more than he wanted to admit. For one thing, Jenrya didn't seem to be bluffing, he really did believe his Digimon, Terriermon, wouldn't go wild, that he was somehow different. But what if he was? Ryo frowned as he got to his feet, padding over to an dresser and opening the drawers. What if these kids were different than Ryo?

What if they had actually succeeded where he'd failed?

_ Yeah right._ Ryo began tugging on a turtleneck. _What a joke.  
_

Shrugging into an overcoat, Ryo headed out. His guardian wasn't here, which worked for him They kept assigning adults to watch over him for some reason. This new one wasn't so bad though. Tamayo kept out of the way, a quiet, shy presence who hovered in the background.

Stepping into his boots, Ryo left the small apartment, locking the door behind him. As soon as he left the building, he hit by screeches and a high-pitched whine that wouldn't go away. Wincing, Ryo moved quickly down the sidewalk. The street lights had stopped doing their strobe-thing, but he wasn't sure if that was something to write home about just yet. The glow was high-intensity, humming louder as power to the bulbs increased, bright as the sun. Ryo shaded his eyes.

He better be quick, then. Pushing his way through the panicked crowds surging past, Ryo forced his path through the sea of humanity trying to go the other way. He continued to push his way past. Whatever he thought about the Tamers, he had to make sure they were in one piece. Like it or not, they might be the only people who could stand a chance against what was coming.

So yeah, Ryo made it his business to know what he could about them, where to find them. Jenrya had been the easiest to find, especially when he lived this close. _I might as well make sure he didn't do something stupid and get himself killed._

Ryo jogged to the corner of the street. The intersection was a jumble of cars, fire flickering at the bottom of the pile-up. A bus was rammed right into a lamppost, the front caved in from the force of impact. As he watched, people crawled out of the hull, some turning around and dragging others who were trapped out from the wreckage. The ruptured tank leaked all over the sidewalks into the street. Ryo couldn't see the driver anywhere.

_ What a wreck. I wonder how they're going to explain this one? _It would be a lame excuse – a power failure or something. Of course everyone would swallow it up, no matter how pathetic it was. And then go about with their daily lives as if nothing happened.

Ryo turned away from the hellish scene before him, turning a cool gaze about the area. A woman staggered past him, missing a shoe as she cast a lost look around her. In the distance, a man in a business suit tosed his cell phone away with a look of horror: it rang incessantly, the sound rising up to a shrill, screaming pitch. The cell phone shattered as it hit the ground and fell silent.

Further away from the crash it was easier to get by. Jenrya had to be somewhere close by: the kid always seemed to be in the thick of things. Carefully stepping around the remnants of a motorcycle, Ryo kept on walking, sniffing around for anything that might tip him off about what started all this. He was examining a buzzing TV screen through a store window and watching the rapidly scrolling binary when someone called out to him:

"Ryo!"

Ryo glanced up. Jenrya was here, like he expected, and now the other boy was approaching him warily, his gray eyes suspicious. Ryo smiled, straightening. "Thought I'd find you here." He faced Jenrya, leaning against the railing. "What can I do for you?"

Jenrya pointed at the pile-up in the intersection. "Wha_t_'s all of this?"

Ryo shrugged. "I don't know," he said truthfully.

"I'm sure you don't," It was obvious Jenrya didn't believe a word he was saying, which was ironic because so far everything that Ryo told been a lie. . "How is it everything's going screwball and you can be so calm? People might've died!"

"People eat it every day. Take my word for it – this isn't what you should be worrying about."

Jenrya bristled. "Then what should I be worrying about?"

"For one thing, you shouldn't be hanging around here. It's obvious it's pretty dangerous out," Ryo replied, gesturing at the crashed bus and the overturned truck. "I don't know if any cars are still functioning, but you could get hit. And besides I – " Ryo cut his own words off, tilting his head as he suddenly noticed something different. The buzzing from the lights was gone now, but the bulbs were glaring even brighter. _Uh oh.  
_

Jenrya had no time to speak as he was bowled over.

He hit the ground with a muffled "hey!" as Ryo tackled him as everything exploded. There was a deafening, simultaneous _pop_, almost drowned out by the roar of the same thing happening throughout the whole city. Glass and sparks fell in a dense shower around them as the street lights blew out. The TV Ryo and Jenrya had been standing in front of was abruptly missing its scree along with a portion of the window, the melted insides reduced to slag. As Jenrya caught his breath, wide-eyed, Ryo rolled off him and popped to his feet. Ryo couldn't help but whistle in amazement.

"_Damn…_"

Jenrya got to his feet gingerly, holding his side. He hadn't expected Ryo to push him to the ground like that. Not doubt he'd be feeling _that _in the morning. He stood next to Ryo. It had looked like it was in the middle of the day, but now the area was bathed in complete darkness. And, from the looks of it, so was the rest of Tokyo. The stars were visible over the silent city, and, except for the fires, there wasn't any light casting the sky an orange-purple tint.

"Power surge of some kind." Ryo said. "Looks like the show's over. Finally." Ryo surveyed the \fire slowly consuming the pile-up, not making any moves to help the injured that were limping away from the warm glow. "It's gonna interesting seeing how they're going to explain this."

"What do you mean, they?"

"Hard to explain when I don't even know. Whoever wanted to sweep stuff like this under the rug before," Ryo ground a shard of glass to powder under the toe of his boot, his sole crunching. "But I can tell you whatever was responsible for this wasn't just some normal power surge. One alone wouldn't cause so much damage." Ryo looked up, glancing calmly at the wreck of the truck in the distance. "And that wouldn't explain the cars."

Ryo turned and began to head down the street, going back the way he came. Jenrya shouted after him.

"Where're you going?"

"Home. There's nothing to see now." Ryo was disappearing into the shadows, about to round a corner. "Oh, and this is nothing, Jenrya. I'd keep that in mind if I were you, so don't get yourself bent up all over this."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was peaceful here. Nothing to see or know, nothing to hear. It was nice, this _nothing_ hat Takato found himself in now. Everything was gone and as long as he didn't think back to it, he wouldn't start remembering all the new "memories" from the beginning of the merge. Takato closed his eyes with an exhausted sigh. It was over. That had been the hard part.

** Takato…**

He opened his eyes. It was so hard to do even that. They felt like so very, very heavy. But he knew that voice…Jenrya. Forcing himself to blink, Takato raised his head, staring up as he found himself looking up at Jenrya. Before he could even formulate a thought, Jenrya was already answering:

**You've done it, Takato**. A smile. **That was it. That was all you had to do. You're done.**

Takato nodded. He was so tired, so drained. Was it really over?

** Yes.**

Takato let out a breath. It was good Jenrya was here. Jenrya made everything better. Jenrya could see everything better then he could ever hope to. Takato was so glad to see his friend again, his chest rising and falling as if he was having trouble breathing. It was finally over. No more seas of dead faces, no more corpses in shelves, no parents hitting each other, no girl on a swing. Jenrya hadn't abandoned Takato, despite his initial fears. His friend kept his promise, kept it just for him.

**Are you hurt? Why don't you rest awhile?**

Takato waved it away. No, no, he wasn't hurt. But he could use a few minutes of down time. Actually, he had no idea _why _was he was laughing, but it felt good.

Jenrya knelt down next to the companion system, static fuzzing the avatar's chest in and out as he moved. A scan: the merge further damaged Takato Matsuda. This would make the next step less difficult. This particular human was rather sturdy. Jenrya plopped down next to Takato, who was now shaking his head at some joke only he understood.

"You know, I keep getting you and the Juggernaut mixed up. It's funny."

Jenrya opened his mouth and uttered a soundless laugh, laughing right along with Takato.

Takato continued shaking his head, a grin on his face. Jenrya was such a great guy, he was willing to hang out with him even though he probably had better things to do. Of course, Jenrya was only laughing along with Takato because he needed him, but it didn't matter. Jenrya was amazing! Takato experienced what Jenrya did so easily, how Jenrya had no difficulty being in multiple places at once.

After awhile, Takato stopped laughing, although he was forced to bite his lip to prevent another uncontrollable giggle. He bit down so hard that he was soon bleeding from the self-inflicted wound. He didn't notice at first, didn't even notice the pinch of pain from his mouth. He was suddenly self-conscious as Jenrya turned those depthless gray eyes on him, his gaze falling on the droplets of blood.

** You bit yourself.**

A mumbled apology. He hadn't meant to. Was Jenrya angry at him?

**No, of course not. But you shouldn't hurt yourself**, Jenrya said. Takato hung his head. He hadn't meant to, he was sorry. Now Jenrya was mad at him because he did something he wasn't supposed to. **It's okay. There's no need to apologize. I'm not mad at you. Look, I'm even going to make it go away for you.**

Takato nodded, obediently keeping perfectly still as the avatar slowly lifted a finger and touched the wound. As Jenrya passed his fingertip over the injury, it faded away, the blood turning into data particles and floating away. Jenrya leaned back as Takato clapped his hands to his mouth with a gasp, his eyes unfocused. Takato's thoughts ran into each other: _Wow! I didn't know Jenrya could do that! He's so great. He did that just for _me_, he's not going to leave me, look, there's no blood – where did it all go? Oh, wait, I know, Jenrya ate that too…jeez, Jenrya's awfully hungry._How did Jenrya stay so thin when all he did was eat?

Jenrya folded his hands around his knees; it wasn't long before Takato copied him, drawing up his own knees and clasping his fingers around them before looking earnestly to his friend for guidance. Jenrya rewarded him with another winning smile.

**You're awfully quiet**, Jenrya commented.

"Sorry, just have a lot of things on my mind," Takato said. Actually, it wasn't true, but he didn't know what to say.

Jenrya saw right through him, as he always did. But he said nothing for a long while. There was nothing Takato could hide from him. No one could hide from Jenrya's many eyes and ears. Jenrya was everywhere. But, Takato realized with a swell of pride, Jenrya focused his attention solely on _him_. Maybe he was being greedy, but he liked it. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

There was a long pause. Takato pointed at his head, smiling sheepishly. "I think there's something wrong with me, Jenrya. I don't suppose you have some Band-Aids to tape me back together?"

Jenrya shook his head, never batting an eye at the remark. **Nope. I'll have to get some later.**

Takato fiddled with his fingers, still looking hopeful. "Oh, okay. I can wait." He looked up at Jenrya, fixing a suspicious eye on Jenrya. "You really aren't the Juggernaut, are you?"

** I am.**

Takato didn't seem to hear his friend's silent voice. "That's good. I hate it when people lie to me. When are you going to get my Band-Aids?"

**Soon**. Jenrya said reassuringly. **Soon. I have to go find them for you first. How does it feel?**

Takato shrugged. Why was Jenrya asking about him? Did it even matter how he felt? Did it matter that everything was all jumbled and weird? But Jenrya asked him a question and he didn't dare keep his mouth shut. After all, Jenrya was dangerous if he wanted to be, if he was ordered to be. Even though Jenrya was usually a nice guy, he carried a big stick, Takato realized, after comparing Jenrya to something a man called "Roosevelt" said once. Why was it all the dead people made more sense then the living?

"Uh, I feel kinda funny." Takato started to bite his lip and remembered that he wasn't supposed to. Pursing his mouth carefully, he continued, looking sideways at Jenrya. "Like I'm broken in places. Disconnected. I mean, the pieces are still there, I have to tape them back together. That's why I asked for some Band-Aids. Those things can stick on anything. Well, that or duct tape…" Takato added, falling silent at this new realization. _Duct tape._ Now _there _was an idea...

**I promise I'll get you some Band-Aids as soon as I can**. Jenrya chuckled silently. **Or duct tape. Whatever you want.**

Takato beamed. "Thanks."

**What else do you feel? **Jenrya asked.

"Feel sorta numb. Like I've been sitting in a tub of ice for a few hours. It's as if everything's disjointed. Like one of those really frustrating puzzles that always seem to be missing a bunch of pieces even if you just bought it." Takato fell quiet, losing his train of thought. Jenrya waited. "Sometimes I have a hard time putting two and two together. I'm sorry I'm like this, Jenrya – it just kinda _happened_. Is something wrong?"

Jenrya reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling warmly. **No, everything's fine. I was curious.**

Takato pretended to pout. Jenrya wasn't being fair now! Takato wasn't a kid after all. He had a right to know what was going on!

**Of course not.** Jenrya changed the subject discreetly. **How exactly do you plan to tape yourself back together?**

Takato's face lit up and chattered away at Jenrya listened. The companion system began miming how he would fix himself up, going through the motions of applying dozens of Band-Aids on himself. It should be easy enough. Look, there was a piece of Takato and there was another one to the left. Ah, this one just dropped off! Oops, _this _part had a fracture in it. He'd better tape it right up before it could break off. As Takato continued to put imaginary Band-Aids on himself, pantomiming, he continued to talk: wow, it he was going to need a whole lot of them, because it looked like he could break into pieces if a wind came through. That wouldn't do. Oh no, not at all. And if Takato was having trouble – for there was a lot to fix – would Jenrya help him out?

Jenrya nodded. **I'd be happy to.**

"I'm happy…" Takato trailed off, his hands lowering as something clicked. His face turned serious, something flickering behind his eyes. Something of his old self. "Am I happy?"

**You tell me.**

"I…I…" Takato stammered, horrified. Jenrya was here, and Takato wasn't alone. So why shouldn't he be happy?

_ This…this isn't real. This isn't right._

_ I shouldn't be here. I've hurt myself with this lie._

Takato looked up as Jenrya got to his feet – the black jacket started another cycle, changing into the neon orange vest as the sleeves shortened. Where was Jenrya going? _Is he leaving? _Takato wondered with a start of sheer panic. The panic faded as Jenrya reached down, and, as one would treat a fragile baby, took his hands and pulled him to his feet. Takato wavered but managed to keep his balance as Jenrya paced a few yards away in the nothingness.

** You're right. This isn't real, Takato. None of this is. I'm not here and you know it.**

No, that wasn't true. Jenrya had eaten all the lines, therefore he _was _here.

Jenrya made a dismissive gesture at this as he strode around Takato, glancing him over as the Tamer did his best to keep still under the inspection. **You want to believe I am. You've damaged yourself on purpose. You hurt yourself to get to me.**

"I-that's not…" But it was. Takato could only feel shame as Jenrya circled about him, hands clasped behind his back. Takato hung his head for the second time that day, miserable. He had only himself to blame for needing tape to fix himself. Jenrya was disappointed.

**Will Band-Aids really fix what you've done to yourself?** Jenrya asked. Round and round Takato he went – Takato couldn't tear his eyes away from his friend, always circling. Jenrya saw everything. Jenrya heard everything. And…Jenrya knew everything. **Do _I_ mean that much to you? Or is it "hope" that matters to you?**

"I-I don't know," tears of embarrassment were starting to form. Takato was horrified to find he was going to cry soon. He didn't _want_ to cry, but he was going to do it anyway. If only he could crawl into a cave somewhere and hide. Jenrya was so very disappointed in him. It made Takato feel disgusted standing here.

**Takato. Listen to me.**

He was listening.

**It won't matter. It doesn't matter any more if I'm not real. Takato, it doesn't matter anymore.** Jenrya stopped in his tracks, behind Takato and just out of his range of vision. The Tamer closed his eyes, trying to will away the tears glimmering between his eyelashes. Jenrya was so forgiving it was kinda humiliating.** You're here. And so am I.** Jenrya drew Takato closer – as the avatar moved, his whole body began to run with static, the blotches of unfocused material expanding to cover his whole height. **Why worry? You don't have a choice, I told you that once.**

Takato allowed himself to be pulled. Yeah. Why worry? He was beyond that now…

** It's time. **Those hands dragged him into a bottomless pit; fingers dancing with strings of static pulling him insistently backward. There was no other choice but to relax and let himself be pulled. **Companion system Takato Matsuda. This is the finally stage of the merge between us. We're two different sentient beings but together we'll know only power. We'll become one.**

Takato kept his eyes shut. Jenrya was going to eat him now. But it wouldn't be like those digital lines. There was no return. Behind him, Jenrya took another step outward, his features indistinguishable in the static. _Jenrya won't leave me._This was for his own good, after all – Jenrya truly cared and this was exactly why he wasn't going to delay any longer. This had to be done. Takato wouldn't complain. There was a wave of warmth as Takato was pulled into Jenrya. As he slid backward into his friend, he began to fade away – whatever came into contact with the Jenrya's touch was dissolving, getting absorbed...

_ This is how everything's turned out. This is it..._

The avatar continued to pull the companion system into himself.

Soon, there was only one standing in Jenrya's nothingness.

It was done. The merge was complete.

**To be continued...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"If this is the best of all possible worlds, then what must the others be like?" Voltaire, Candide


	11. Picking Up the Pieces

**Digital Shuffle**  
by Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.  
**Author's Note**: Anyway, just for the record - this is an AU. Characters act differently than they do in the show. Also, each character views the other differently; just because someone is a "main" character doesn't automatically mean his/her opinion is always right or justified So, like people, even main characters can and will make mistakes. No one is always right and some choices made won't always be the right ones. Ryo will be a main character.

**Archive**: -13 for cursing and future violence  
_Italics_ are for thoughts, sound effects, emphasis  
**Bold**is for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Picking up the Pieces)

Yamaki Mitsuo had a hell of a day. It started innocently enough but got progressively worse and worse. In fact, the high point would have to be that surge (or whatever it was) that blew out just about anything electronic in the building. Luckily, he'd been fast enough to order all the plugs pulled before the damage would escalate any further.

Rubbing away a migraine, Yamaki wondered if maybe he should've just slept late, should've just said, "Screw the meeting. In fact, screw all of this".

This was the second time Hypnos was in the dark; Yamaki could only hope this wouldn't become a daily occurrence. However, he still had his job to do and because he'd shut everything off before things started blowing up on him, they'd gotten off pretty light. It still meant a lot of salvaging. The Yuggoth program had suffered a considerable amount of damage as well. _That_ meant several all-nighters for the tech teams, who already had enough work just maintaining everything.

"Sir?"

Yamaki grunted, turning his face up toward the voice. The command deck was still completely dark. He'd sent Oota – one of his aides – off to get some candles or flares, but he'd yet to return. The circuit breakers weren't working either. "What is it?"

Reika's voice drifted down to him through the shadows. "Kei thinks we can work on restoring the files and programs as soon as the power returns."

"Which files did we lose?" Yamaki toyed with his lighter.

"We don't know, sir. There's no way of knowing for certain until we can run checks on the network."

Well, that was _just_ what he wanted to hear. The extent of the damage couldn't be determined until the damned power returned, and who knew how long _that _would take? Yamaki counted to ten. And then doubled it to twenty because he was still pissed by the time he reached nine. For some reason he wished he had one of those idiotic stress balls, just so he could throw it at something. There was really nothing to do but to wait until everything returned back to normal.

Yamaki hated waiting.

From his impression, a Digimon hadn't been responsible for this. There were no species he knew of that could, for three hours straight, create such an uproar over the whole city. The electronics hadn't just shut off or started backfiring. They became overrun with binary, the code incoherent babble, and so far he hadn't been able to decipher it. Even the lights implanted in Kei and Reika's goggles had started burning out, glowing brighter and brighter even as the two women hurriedly tossed them to the floor. Just in time too – the bulbs exploded only a few seconds later. Any way slower and someone would've been missing an eye.

Yamaki went back to rubbing away at his headache, running his fingers through his hair. This was just so damned _frustrating_. Every time he thought Hypnos was making progress, something like this happened. And these weren't just little problems: these were huge setbacks.

This wasn't normal. And it only made him that much more suspicious.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was around 3AM when Tamayo Yonekura finally limped into her apartment. Glancing about as she pushed the door open, the secretary sighed and stepped out of her shoes. It was good to be home.

"Ryo?"

No answer. Well, he was probably asleep by now. Carefully easing her weight off her aching ankle, Tamayo closed the door behind her, straightening her glasses as she reached for the light switch. A frown. Nothing happened. Another try. The power was still out. Maybe it would be better in the morning. Tamayo was dead tired – it had been a wild day – but she wanted to check up on her charge.

Wincing as weight was put on her tender foot, Tamayo crossed the kitchen, dropping her purse on the couch as she limped down the hall. She was amazed her own apartment unit hadn't burned down or anything: she'd seen the fires several blocks down, the firefighters trying to put it out. It looked like some lucky star was shining its face on her, especially after the accident she had today. Tamayo had been lucky – her small car had been totaled when it'd lost control for no reason, but she'd left with only a sprained ankle and a bruised shoulder.

"Ryo?" Tamayo peeked her head into the boy's room. It was still bare, despite the fact they'd lived in the apartment for several months now. Ryo lay in the shadows on his futon. From his slow, even breaths, it sounded like he was asleep. His guardian shut the door. She'd let the poor kid get some rest.

Maybe it would be better if she stayed in the living room. Ryo was a light sleeper and if she started making too much noise, he'd wake up. Tamayo went back the way she'd come, limping over to the dark, misshapen shape of the couch. Dropping herself down onto the cushions, the woman let out a long sigh. Now that she was back home, she began to realize how exhausted she was.

_At least Ryo's okay_. That was her main concern. She was responsible for him, after all. And she _did_ genuinely care what happened to him, even if she wasn't very good at conveying that.

Lying down gingerly on the couch, Tamayo looked back toward Ryo's bedroom. He was unhurt, thank God. With everything that happened, she'd rushed home as fast as she could and it was a relief that she found him already there._ Ryo's a smart kid._ He was also a perfectly nice guy, no matter how much he tried to hide that, Tamayo reflected with guilty remorse. The problem was Ryo didn't let others get close to him anymore. It was difficult trying to coax him out of that shell he'd wrapped around himself and it didn't help Tamayo was far too shy herself to set much of an example. And she _stil l_didn't know just what happened when she'd first met him...

That had been a year ago. Of course, Ryo didn't remember their first meeting – he'd been too delirious at the time – but Tamayo was amazing he was relatively normal after that whole thing.

A year ago she'd been driving down a long stretch of road on her way back from a family reunion. There wasn't a lot of traffic and it had been easy going. She hadn't been paying much attention to the roadside and almost passed the body collapsed at the base of a sign. Upon pulling over, Tamayo discovered the "body" was still alive.

There wasn't any identification on him, but the boy looked to be young, his face twisted in agony. He lay on his right side as he curled up against the sign pole and she hadn't seen the large injury from her angle, not at first. It'd been an ugly, bleeding gash stretching along his waist all the way up to his chest, coated with dirt and becoming visible as she gently rolled him over. Tamayo almost threwup at the sight of the infected wound. Somehow she'd managed to swallow the rising bile and call for help on her cell phone, watching with horror as blood continued to form a sticky puddle under him.

What made the experience more surreal was the fact Ryo was conscious the whole time. The kid babbled pure gibberish to himself, his voice incoherent with pain as he kept trying to get to his feet. Most of his words didn't make sense, but from Tamayo gathered, the boy didn't know where he was – something about a "Digital World" – and he didn't even know she was beside him. His eyes only continued to stare blindly over Tamayo's shoulder she tried her best to help him, cradling his body in her arms.

The kid rambled feverishly on and on as she tried to still his shaking arms. At one point, he'd philosophically wondered why he wasn't dead yet, that he _should _be by now, wondered why "he" attacked him in the first place, and then he'd begun screaming a bunch of nonsensical names to himself as Tamayo propped him into a sitting position, frantically applying pressure to the blood oozing from his side with her hands, her blouse, her skirt, whatever was closest. He screamed and screamed…

It seemed like an eternity before the paramedics finally came over the ridge.

She could still hear Ryo. Even now, they echoed, those choked screams of his…

…those endless, animal screams…

They'd whisked the poor child away from her. One of them somehow pulled her along with the ambulance. Tamayo was too confused to resist. They asked her all these questions, but the dazed woman hadn't been able to answer many of them. No, she didn't know who he was. No, she wasn't a relative. Yes, she found him lying there. What was her name? Tamayo Yonekura. Twenty six years-old. She did the right thing by reporting this, another told her, he would be okay.

They hadn't lied. Ryo survived, though he was hospitalized for several weeks.

She visited as much as she could, leaving her work early so she could catch him before visiting hours were over; for most of his stay, he was asleep or so drugged he was completely out of it. As it turned out, this boy was one Ryo Akiyama, from the other side of Tokyo. He disappeared from his home over a year previous and had been missing up until the point that Tamayo found him. It was strange, though, a doctor confided in her. From what he'd heard, Ryo disappeared without a trace, as if he suddenly left in the middle of doing something. No eye witnesses. His parents had also vanished, but the explanation for _that _was they simply packed up and left the city several months after. There was no way to contact them. So he would have to be assigned a guardian.

Tamayo was too timid to volunteer at first. After all, she'd never had any kids of her own and she didn't think she would know how to deal with one. And what if she hurt the poor boy more? Ryo had already been through enough. She might not be a good role-model, she might not be able to support two people. Seeing Ryo finally alert a few weeks later made her quail even further. Ryo was assigned another guardian.

She hadn't seen Ryo for a while then. It was only several months afterward that they met again. Over that space of time, he burned through four volunteers, each complaining he was sullen and impossible. Tamayo had volunteered as soon as she could; she felt that she could understand what Ryo had been through. As far as Ryo was concerned, the first time he'd met a woman named Tamayo Yonekura was in a bland office where adults kept trying to pretend to be his parents and then shucked him off to another grown-up as soon as they got sick of him. This Yonekura was another stranger. She wasn't surprised Ryo turned a suspicious eye on her as she drove him to her apartment. At first, things were off to a shaky start, but she was convinced things could work.

For one thing, he never insulted her. Ever. True, he wasn't the most respectful of people, but he did keep his tongue checked whenever she was around. He sometimes dropped his self-centered façade every now and then when he was around her. Did Ryo hate her? She didn't think so; actually, she didn't know what Ryo thought of her. Despite the fact he usually pretended to be aloof, she had a feeling this was only a form of protection, like an armadillo curling up into a ball threatened. So then was Ryo scared of something? Or someone?

_Whatever it is, he won't talk about it._ Instead of pursuing the matter, Tamayo would drop it every time; every time _that _mocking grin appeared it meant Ryo remembered something from before that day they met. Tamayo didn't want to alienate him. For now she kept her mouth shut about finding him that one hot afternoon.

Maybe one day Ryo would open himself up to her. For now, though, he was still too suspicious to allow it and all she could do was wait. …

It was still hard to believe the poor, half-dead kid then was the very same Ryo Akiyama she was currently living with.

One had been a ball of pain. The other was a cool, distant mirror of someone else.

_What __happened to him before I found him? _She knew Ryo hadn't always been like that – from previous records she poured over, he appeared to be friendly before he was reported missing. _What could have been so bad he completely changed his own personality?_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo woke up late and totally missed his first class. Sunlight crept through the blinds. _It's probably ten_, Ryo realized lazily.

Rooting about through his clothes, he began shoving on some jeans. Finally finding a black t-shirt, Ryo faced the mirror on the far wall, started to pull it on. And stopped, staring at his reflection, his mouth turning down in a frown. Sometimes he could almost forget he still bore those scars on his side he could see now, from serrated fangs when they tore into with Tamayo here to look after him, he would never forget day, and the hellish months afterward. But…

_ He's long gone_, Ryo scowled at his reflection. _I bet he's been deleted by now._

Yeah, well. That was then. If the past didn't kill you, the present could easily finish the job. It seemed like a good idea to keep both eyes open in front. Ryo closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Would he be left alone if he kept trying to contact the Tamers, dropped a few hints to help them out? The fact that he hadn't been targeted for extermination by _them_ said something. Apparently they didn't care about Ryo as long as he didn't try to reunite with his partner. Like he was totally the lowest on the priority list. Ryo was almost insulted.

Too late to sit back. But he could still sit on the sidelines too. Real tempted. There were days he wanted nothing more than to go back to school and pretend he was a normal kid again. Like if he just kept his head down, he wouldn't be next on the hit list. Other days, though...the thing was, no matter what he thought of these new kids, he didn't want to see the same thing go down. After all, they weren't that much different from him. They were kids too. And things had escalated a lot since.

There wouldn't just be accidents and broken light-bulbs. Replace that with growing casualties.

A dry mental laugh_. I wonder how long our days are numbered_? A few weeks? A few months? Ryo wasn't a sadistic bastard: he didn't want to see the people around him dropping like flies, no matter what impression he might give others. He knew what rumors were being whispered across the Digital World, that a call to arms was sounded. The Digital World was in an uproar. Something was going to happen. Something big.

Ryo left his room and peeked into his guardian's room; the bed was still made and it looked like Tamayo hadn't slept in it. A twinge of an unfamiliar feeling tugged at him. Had she come back at all? Or had she been in one of those pile-ups from last night? If that was the case, then she might still be out there. Whirling around Ryo stormed down the hall.

And nearly tripped over Tamayo's legs sticking out from the couch in the process.

Ryo let out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding. Tamayo was asleep on the couch, the woman looking completely exhausted. He stared down at her silently. She was still wearing the same clothes she left in and one of her sleeves had a tear in it, the shoulder frayed. Ryo leaned closer, his eyebrows knitting together.

Tamayo's eyes flared open then and she found herself suddenly face-to-face with Ryo. Gving a startled squeak, she sat up like a bolt. Ryo straightened as Tamayo sought to still her frantically beating heart, pressing her hands over her chest. Even as she watched, the self-confident mask easily slid over his face, hiding the unfamiliar expression seconds before. Tamayo reached about blindly for her glasses, murmuring an almost inaudible "thank you" as Ryo handed them to her.

Tamayo fitted them on her nose, avoiding her charge's gaze studiously as she began unbraiding her hair.

"When did you get back?" Ryo asked.

Tamayo focused her attention on her hair. "This morning. I…I'm sorry, I should've gotten back earlier, but my car ran into some trouble and I had to walk back."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Ryo didn't believe her, she knew he didn't, why oh why wasn't she more responsible in the first place? "…I'll…are you hungry?"

Ryo nodded.

"Okay," Tamayo dropped one of her unfinished braids. She got to her feet and began to make her way to the kitchen, trying to keep her hobble to a minimum – it wouldn't do anyone any good if she flaunted her ankle and she was determined to keep it to herself until Ryo was gone. It was such a minor injury, surely it didn't need immediate attention. Besides, it didn't hurt that much. It wasn't serious.

But Ryo saw it anyway, despite her attempt to appear perfectly fine.

"What's wrong with your foot?"

Tamayo kept her back to him. Her shoulders tensed expectantly. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"You're limping," Ryo said.

"It's nothing," a flush of embarrassment crept up to color her cheeks and she didn't dare turn to face her charge. Tamayo knew she was lying. Ryo knew she was lying.

But what Ryo said next was completely unexpected:

"You need ice if you've got a sprain." And then Ryo was brushing past her. Tamayo could only watch in astonishment as he opened the freezer and began searching for ice, impatiently tossing packages of frozen peas and carrots to the counter. She stared at him as if he'd sprouted another head. "You should know better, Tamayo."

"I…well…" Tamayo trailed off, staring at her hands. Ryo always made her feel like _he _was the adult and she could only pull at the corner of her sleeve with a sheepish expression.

Ryo began dumping the ice cubes into a small plastic bag. "Take a seat."

Tamayo obediently sat down, the blush growing. Ryo was going to chew her out now: it was rare he did, but he only did it when she did something extremely stupid (like forgetting to stock up the refrigerator) or she began working too late (she had a tendency to be a workaholic). Instead, Ryo sat down beside her and, without asking, took her hand gently in his and put the makeshift ice pack in her flaccid fingers. He then guided her hand to her swollen ankle with infinite patience.

"You have to keep the ice there for a while," Ryo told her. Tamayo looked up in open confusion from the ice pressed to her sprained ankle to Ryo. Ryo's face was once again wearing that amused expression, but his voice didn't have that same bitter snap to it. Instead, it was calm and controlled, almost kind. The ice pack started to slip from her stunned fingers and Ryo caught it before it fell, placing it back into her hand with the same gentle care as before. "You shouldn't let injuries sit like that."

Tamayo couldn't find anything to say. This was a new side to Ryo she was, quite frankly, unfamiliar with.

"How'd you sprain your ankle anyway?" Ryo asked her.

Tamayo stared at the ice pack. She shouldn't tell him…but the words were already spilling from her even as thought crossed her mind."I…it was a car accident. My car lost control last night and I ended up hitting a signpost. It's nothing," she insisted defensively.

Ryo's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and for a moment a strange expression flicked across his face. It was gone so quickly Tamayo could only wonder if she was seeing things now. Had it been anger? Or something else entirely?

Why was he so concerned about this in the first place?

"But you're okay."

"I'm fine."

Ryo merely stared at her with those black eyes of his, and Tamayo couldn't help but squirm under them.

"You…" he trailed off. There had to be a better way to word this. After a moment of deliberation, he only frowned at her ankle, as if it was something that could've been avoided in the first place. "If things like that keep happening, you need to be more careful. You could get worse than a sprained ankle if you don't take care of yourself."

"I know. Thank you, Ryo."

Ryo pursed his lips. He couldn't tell Tamayo – or anyone – of his own experiences in the Digital World; adults wouldn't believe him and there was no way his guardian would understand what he might try to warn her against. But he could certainly try to tell her to be more on the ball in the future,_ to be ready_. Even if that might not mean a whole lot to a shy secretary, at least it was something.

He got to his feet gruffly as Tamayo looked up at him. The silence had grown uncomfortable, as it always did whenever they spoke to one another. Today it was because of unfamiliarity: Ryo wasn't at all sure why he was acting like his guardian was some sort of fragile kid (she was over double his own age) and he could only wonder when he'd started caring so much in the first place.

Wasn't she supposed to be just like all the others? So then why…?

Ryo turned away from Tamayo, speaking haltingly. "I've got to go." The barriers were up again. He headed for the door and reached it. "Keep that ice on your ankle. You should stay off your feet until the swelling goes down."

Tamayo blinked as the door shut behind Ryo. Just what happened? She looked down at the slowly melting ice in the plastic bag pressed against her ankle. What possessed Ryo to help her like that? He'd never done anything like this before and this departure from the norm was confusing. For a moment, Tamayo had been sure he was angry. Not at _her_, but at something else, something else he had control over. Had she imagined this whole thing?

Another glance at Ryo's ice pack.

It was still there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya was _beyond_ tired. If there was an area past exhausted, he'd be there. He'd ended up walking the entire way because nothing worked. No buses, no cars, no subway.

Sitting with his head resting in his arms, Jenrya wondered if he was going to doze off in the middle of the class. He hoped not. He'd probably get in trouble and get sent out to stand in the hall. The conversational murmur was muted today; half of the class was missing because the trains and buses still weren't working and it would take a day or so to fix them. Mr. Mori himself wasn't even there yet. Jenrya was still wondering why he hadn't done the smart thing and slept in late.

"Is Jenrya tired, woof?"

Jenrya didn't raise his head as what felt a lot like a puppet tapped him on the back. "Very tired."

A bark of a giggle.

"Bwoof, Jenrya should've stayed home today!" Juri's puppet pretended to nip him on the shoulder. "Juri heard today is only going to be a half day!"

Jenrya raised his head, blinking blearily at Juri and her perkiness. She beamed at him.

"Sorry, Juri. Didn't get any sleep last night."

Juri plopped down next to him. "Last night was really scary!" She set down the puppet, her legs kicking idly as she leaned on the surface of a nearby desk. "But I'm glad it's over. My dad was really upset – he's gotta replace all the light bulbs in the house and the TV and the computer..." she paused, scrunching up her face in thought. "Oh, and someone rear-ended our car in the driveway!"

"Jeez! Everyone okay?"

Juri nodded. "Yup! We stayed home. Actually, it was kinda fun – we ended up using a buncha candles and played all these games."

"Lucky. I ended up walking home," Jenrya groaned back into his arms, his forehead thudding back down. Juri only laughed good-naturedly. She had a point. Last night didn't change the fact they still had stuff to do the next day. His father was called into work at the crack of dawn and he was long gone by the time Jenrya finally crawled out of bed. Terriermon decided to leave the Lees' house today: he said he'd go keep Guilmon some company. And that Jenrya _had_ to come with plenty of bread and pastries.

A mental curse. He still had to do something about Guilmon, so –

"Morning, Ryo!"

Jenrya glanced up at Juri's voice, looking up over the crook of his arm. Ryo let himself into the classroom, the boy sliding open the door and striding in with his usual cocky gait. A frown. Ever since that bizarre meeting last night – sheesh, his side was _still_ hurting – Jenrya was only confused. Why was Ryo waiting for him? Jenrya was so sure Ryo wasn't concerned about whatever was happening now, but then he'd turned around and tackled him like that. He'd probably be sitting in the ER because of that exploding TV.

Jenrya watched out the corner of his eye as Ryo wound his way past the small clumps of chattering students and parked himself at his desk. It was as if nothing happened the night before. As if Ryo was above it all, untouchable. Heleaned back into his seat, not even bothering to spare a glance at Jenrya. At the moment, Jenrya was too exhausted to be offended; 'sides, he was wondering if he'd been too quick in judging the other boy.

He accidentally nodded off when an unfamiliar man finally stepped into the classroom. Jenrya sleepily raised his head as the new teacher faced the class.

"Mori was unable to make it today, children," he held up his hands, frowning underneath his bushy mustache until the last question died down and it was quiet enough so he could continue. "I'll be replacing him. My name is Yuuto Kanemaru." He folded his hands over his stomach, eyes roaming the half-empty classroom. "Any questions?"

Hirokazu's hand shot up. "Do we really have a half-day, Mr. Kanemaru?"

"Yes, you'll be getting out at one thirty today," Kanemaru pointed to the next hand waving desperately for attention in the back. "You."

"Um, will we have to…?"

Jenrya eventually went back to sleep at this point. He woke up only to find they were working in their prospective groups again and Mr. Kanemaru with his head buried in a newspaper. He followed Juri back to the square of desks, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to wake up. Hirokazu and Ryo were already there, the taller boy his arms crossed over his chest and looking bored. Jenrya sat down next to Hirokazu as Juri immediately took charge – her puppet began chattering about how to put everything down on a poster board that she'd laid out on her desk. The group set to work.

Jenrya kept an eye on Ryo as the class went by. Today he seemed preoccupied with something and the other boy would only grunt a brief response whenever Hirokazu asked him a question. Was Ryo on their side? He'd been so sure, so _certain_ earlier he wasn't, but now…well, he didn't know what to think.

A sidelong glance. Ryo was watching the others with that same amused expression, but there was something distant in it, too. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking. Ryo simply sat back and _observed _the three students. Jenrya turned his attention away. He'd have to talk to Ryo again. Whatever Ryo Akiyama knew, it would inevitably draw him into what Jenrya was already neck deep in: he couldn't always take a step back and let everything pass by him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid was grinning from ear to ear by the time she pushed open the Yuggoth deck's door. Reika shot her a stare as her coworker practically danced in. Yamaki was in one of his usual bad moods (damn, the guy had a perpetual storm-cloud hovering over his head) but she wasn't fazed as she threw a mock salute.

"Kincaid Donovan, reporting in."

Yamaki looked up from his PDA at her voice. Giving an order to the tech crew working on repairs, he motioned her over. He was already scowling.

"You'll be working with these three," Yamaki told her, not even trying to hide the pained expression .

"Sure thing!" Kincaid gave a thumb's up. "Just tell me what to do and I'm _on_it."

"You'll be replacing the wiring for these panels," here he gestured at a row of the machines housed in their casing, "and then you'll be assisting the team with whatever they need to work on next."

"Sounds like fun."

Yamaki made a face at this. _"Fun"_? This wasn't a time for fun. Shaking his head at his crazy employee – her own co-workers were regarding her like she was some sort of alien – Yamaki pointed out which types of wires would have to be replaced and then gave his usual threat to keep out of his way.

Reika looked up from her terminal as Yamaki left the four to their work and approached her. Yamaki was in a foul mood and she wisely kept her mouth shut as he flopped down in the seat next to hers, slamming his PDA down. Kei discreetly moved away from the two, wandering out of earshot. Whatever went on between Yamaki and Reika was none of her business.

"At the rate everyone's moving, we're not going to be back online for two, three days."

Reika kept her gaze her screen, running through the checks. "Everyone's going as fast as they can, sir."

Yamaki growled in the back of his throat, leaning against the armrests of his chair. "I should've been more prepared for this," he glanced at Reika. "I should've written a procedure for a full failure."

"But you didn't."

Yamaki didn't explode at what most would normally consider an insolent remark, instead nodding to himself. Reika had a point. She usually did. Unlike him, she didn't dwell on the past, so she was quick to point out mulling over it couldn't change what already happened.

"I didn't," he agreed. "I will now because of this."

Next time he would be far more prepared than this time. Hypnos could (and would) recover from this. This was only a temporary setback, but that didn't detract from the fact it was still frustrating. Yamaki shielded the flame rising from his lighter with his palm as he lit a cigarette, watching the clusters of different tech crews huddle around their work. Next to him, Reika swiveled in her chair, her arms folded on the desk in front of her as she glanced over her shoulder. The two gazed at the others, the silence stretching out for several minutes.

Reika was the first to speak up.

"Are you going to be needing me tonight, sir?"

"Probably. Yes."

They fell back into silence again. She already read his mind. Reika knew him so well she could read into his expressions with little difficulty; the way he moved probably betrayed how he felt more than his own face. _R_ Yet another indicator that he'd stayed with Reika too long, leaving Yamaki to wonder why he didn't move onto someone else. Reika was good – very good, a lot better than most – but there were others out there who could put even her to shame. _And _they didn't ask uncomfortable questions. A sudden thought._ Don't tell me I'm starting to get attached to this woman_. The very idea! It was just ridiculous! Yamaki wasn't interested in a relationship, he'd said so dozens of times. He was certain Reika felt the same way.

They were just "business associates". _We just happen to want the same thing._

End of story.

The end of his cigarette glowed red as Yamaki took in a drag, glancing aside at Reika. As women went, Reika was beautiful – she also had a brain, which could be awkward when she decided to pry into his life. Most of the women he'd been with previous were either out for money or a good screw, or even both, depending on the situation. None kept him on his toes as Reika did. Reika was one of a kind. Fairly intelligent, skilled at what she did. Sometimes he wondering what a woman like her was doing working for him when she could get a higher payroll and less hours employed to someone else. When you worked for an organization like Hypnos, you couldn't expect to get big bonuses.

As long as she did her job, it didn't matter. As long as Hypnos functioned properly and continued to delete Digimon before they become a menace to society, Yamaki didn't really care what Reika's motives were.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Terriermon tried not to panic. He was _so _in trouble! Jenrya was gonna kill him!

He didn't know how he did it, but he lost Guilmon.

The Rookie peered once more into the shed, triple-checking. Guilmon was gone and it bugged Terriermon he'd no idea where to. Now that he thought about it, Guilmon _had_ been acting weird. He was very listless, even when Terriermon began balancing on his head to cheer him up. Guilmon had said very little, his amber eyes slightly clouded as he stared at nothing in particular. Nothing Terriermon did got him to lighten up. Almost as if he was distracted…

_ Maybe he's sick?_

Jenrya was definitely going to chew him out. Definitely. How'd this even happen? Terriermon only left the shed for a minute or two to check out this cool kite in the distance and when he came back, Guilmon was gone._ I'm so in trouble_, Terriermon chewed nervously on his stubby claws, his eyes flicking from the depth of the den to the gates. Even after he ran around the park trying to find the other Rookie, he came up with empty paws.

Guilmon vanished to who knew where.

_How am I going to explain _this_ to Jenrya?_

Terriermon couldn't sit here – he had to go tell his partner, even if it meant leaving his post.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It looked like the wind was picking up. The weather had been acting strangely for a while: by tonight, the winds would probably reach hurricane strength. It would be dangerous being outside and Jenrya wouldn't be surprised if it even started to hail. The weather guys couldn't explain it. It could easily become as calm as the eye of a storm, become dry instead of humid and then do a huge u-turn.

Jenrya ran up the flight of stairs, taking the last few two at time. As soon as classes were over, he went searching for Ryo. Most of people avoided going up to the roof, but from what little Jenrya knew about the new guy, he wasn't like "most people". Jenrya mounted the last step and threw his weight against the door, pushing it outward as it opened on slightly rusted hinges. A blast of cold air licked at him as he stepped out onto the roof of the school's main building.

_There he is. _Ryo stood near the far edge, one hand resting on the chain links of the perimeter's fence as he gazed off into the distance, his back to Jenrya. Jenrya pursed his lips and strode across the gravel, his shoes crunching as he closed the distance between them. Ryo didn't turn around and it was only when he came to a stop a few feet away the other boy spoke up with a thoughtful drawl.

"Doesn't it frustrate you, how unpredictable everything is?"

Jenrya blinked. Was this some trick question? A bitter smile was on Ryo's face as his fingers tightened about the fence links.

"The weather, Digimon, even people. They're all so random. They can change like this." Ryo snapped his fingers.

"What's your point?"

Ryo only smiled and shrugged. His back was still to Jenrya. "I was just thinking. It's not really important. Forget it," he turned to face Jenrya. "So you found me. Congrats."

Jenrya frowned. Best to go for it. "Why don't you want to get involved?"

"Because I did once and it got me nowhere. Bad memories, y'know," Ryo replied. His eyebrows drew down, his face darkened for fleeting second. "And it's also none of your business."

Jenrya wasn't fazed. "What was going on last night?"

"It's over, isn't it? I told you, I don't know how it happened, but I think I know what it means."

"What?"

"_They're _putting their plan into action," Ryo shifted his weight against the fence. "But that was only the beginning."

"What about Takato? Where is he?"

"Beats me. I also told you that. I only know whoever's running around looking like him isn't someone to mess with."

Jenrya's frown grew. He'd already figured this out now (having listened to Ruki's account). Something had happened to Takato that night he'd disappeared. And now there seemed to be another Takato, one that didn't act at all like him – _that_ he also knew. _I need to know more than this_. He couldn't come up with a plan if he only kept reviewing the same information over and over. There had to be more…but was it Ryo that had all the answers? Or someone else he wasn't aware of? Well, he'd have to see what he could get from the boy standing in front of him. It was better than nothing, and Jenrya would never forgive himself if he found out later that something _could_have been done, if only he'd been on top of things.

"It's awfully unfair I'm answering all your questions and getting nothing back," Ryo interjected. "So I'm going to ask you something."

Jenrya was on his guard. "What?"

"Do you know what pain is, Jenrya? I don't mean sadness over a dead pet. Or tears over a sprained arm. I'm talking about real pain. You know what it feels like?"

Jenrya was completely taken aback. What kind of question was this? And what had this to do with the current situation? Ryo nodded, like his silence said all it needed to.

"Yeah, didn't think so." Ryo snorted. "A lot of people don't. They're lucky. But sooner or later luck runs out." He tilted his head, taking in Jenrya. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even if I hated his guts or vice versa. But it's all so very unpredictable, you know? Sometimes it's wiser to avoid it – if possible – and save yourself a lot of trouble. Unless you're weird and actually _like _pain."

"I never said I did."

Ryo only chuckled. "Whatever. If you don't want to follow my example, fine. I'm not your mom." He gave another shrug. "As I already said, I was involved with these sorts of things once. By jumping into the fray – like you seem to want to do – you're only putting your life on the line and you'll drag in others. And if you get killed, then who's going to be there to protect what you care about? Sometimes it's smarter to step back and take the time to actually _look _at the whole picture. Live carefully and you'll survive another day." The cynical smile again, as if remembering some past conversation. " 'After all, you're no good to anyone if you're dead.' "

"You could fight with us, Ryo," Jenrya said quietly. "We need all the help we can get."

Ryo went silent at this, his smirk fading as he stared at the Tamer. Shaking his head, he turned to the fence again, now serious as he regarded the city. He looked up, as if composing himself.

"I can't. You might think I'm being a jerk, but I've got my reasons. I can't fight with you."

Jenrya was blunt. "Why?"

Ryo's shoulders tensed, his fingers clenching at the links of the fence. "Because I might end up fighting against someone I don't want to. This time I have to sit on the sidelines," he glanced over his shoulder at the other boy, his face expressionless now. "I don't really care if you understand me or not. But I can't get even more involved, not unless I have no other choice. Not when there's other alternatives. Not yet."

"Then _when_, Ryo? When it's too late?" Jenrya spat.

It was inevitable, wasn't it? That he'd find motivation when it was too late. But what if Ryo did go along with these new kids, if he did join them? What if _he_ showed up? Ryo was the first thing he'd zero in on, a familiar face in a sea of strangers. _He_ wouldn't rest, then, until he'd finished the job. Ryo would be dead within minutes if _he _found the boy again. And what use would Ryo be if he was killed? But what if innocent people – such as Tamayo – were involved? Then what? Would he still sit back and try to predict something that simply couldn't be predicted anymore? Maybe there were some good points to "jumping into the fray", as Jenrya proposed. If it was one life compared to the many…well…did it matter, then, if he suddenly disappeared again?

But this time he wouldn't be able to come back. Tamayo might even miss him for doing the right thing. But it was better him than her…

Ryo actually sighed, for a moment sounding tired. "I'll think about it. That's all I'll do for now."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So this was what it was like to be one.

**All systems are online and running.**

There was so much to do. But they had plenty of time. Machines didn't age.

**Awaiting further instructions.**

There was no "he". There was just "them". Just "it". Just one consciousness.

**…?**

Someone was there? She was going to enter their chambers.

One of the cameras over the sealed door swiveled: a purple-haired woman was approaching it, glancing up at the curving lens and giving a little wave as the camera focused itself.

**Intruder identified as Kincaid Donovan. Age twenty-seven. Gender female. Height five foot, four inches. Weight one twenty-nine pounds. Non-human. Cleared.**

The coils stopped roiling. Their creator was here.

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Kincaid pulled herself from the crack she'd pushed her malleable form through and burst into surprised smiles as the overhead lights flared on with a life of their own, the screens around her lighting up in a sort of greeting. The Juggernaut was fully aware and operational. And on schedule, too. No doubt the whole fiasco yesterday was the Juggernaut's doing. The woman stepped past the row of glowing monitors, her fur solidifying into human hair again as she moved further into the heart of the supercomputer's chamber. Approaching the Juggernaut, she gazed up at it with a smile of pride, her hands on her hips.

"I've new instructions for you," she called up. "Tonight a Golem will come to you. You're to delete it and absorb the energy it carries."

The screens blinked on and off in perfect understanding.

Kincaid reached into her pocket and retrieved the CD she tucked into its depths. "This CD has the rest of your orders. The Council has accepted my nomination for you. If you are voted as the Sword, you'll have to cooperate with the Shield. Keep any threats to the mission to a minimum. You may dispose of them anyway you want."

A satisfied whine from the computers surrounding the Juggernaut. Kincaid held out the disk – she watched as a wire snaked up from a small hole drilled through the floor. It slowly curled around the CD, then turned in midair and wove a lone path toward the Juggernaut. _It's fully functional. _It was almost beautiful, actually. It was because of the boy that the Juggernaut had the ability to move now, to control whatever it was commanded to. Underneath the city lurked the cables, the wires, all the electronics the Juggernaut now had complete control over. A whole series of interlocking networks creating a large spider-web under Tokyo's streets. T

he CD disappeared into a mass of writhing coils as the Juggernaut opened its plates just enough to admit this new "gift". They closed as soon as it was safely inside.

It was amazing the Juggernaut was already looking out for its own survival. The cautious way it had only opened itself to let the CD slip in spoke volumes: it kept the main body of the supercomputer protected, keeping its own "heart" away from any possible interference. She doubted she would be able to check up on the personality matrix now, even though she was the machine's creator. After all, the Juggernaut was now looking out for its own interests, now that it had become more "aware" of itself.

Kincaid looked down at one of the monitors. Text rapidly scrolled across, asking her a question.

"Why did I nominate you?" Kincaid shrugged. "You can cover more area than any of the other candidates, for one thing. And, unlike them, you can be in more than one place at a time. And home field advantage."

The Shield had been nominated, yes?

"It's been decided. He'll be biomerging in the waters near Rainbow Bridge."

So this operative only needed create the physical barrier around the whole perimeter of Tokyo.

Kincaid laughed, reaching out and giving the screen in front of her a motherly pat. "Of course. He's not gifted like me," she preened a little bit. "If you're chosen, you'll have to access your new dual system." The woman reread the next line of text. "You can't use the Digivice unless you do so, so no. Yes. Where is he now? In the tunnel? Alright…no, it's fine with me. Keep him out of sight until I can confirm your position. You'll have to make him digivolve to clean up some of the other pests running around."

Other pests being the children with the Digimon. The humans that were breaking the taboo.

"Precisely. They're going to be high priority."

The Juggernaut would terminate them as soon as possible.

"Great," Kincaid beamed. "Glad that's settled. The Shield will be here by tomorrow afternoon. As soon as he's ready, you can begin with the clean-up. Try to keep it neat. No messes, if it can be prevented. Yes…yes. That's fine. Me? I'll be running a test tonight regarding the Golem I've called for. It will…"

_…it will seek out a host and absorb the energy_, the Juggernaut's text interrupted her.

"Good guess. You don't have enough power to make the breach, so we'll need to harvest more first," Kincaid replied. She rewarded the Juggernaut with a wink, a grin tugging at her lips. "If it's successful, I'll have some more Golems brought in. You have to delete them like you would a Digimon. But you'll leave any Digimon who aren't accompanied by a human _alone_…I mean it. No unnecessary deletions."

The previous text was replaced with a short line: _very well_.

"Oh, and there's something else," Kincaid snapped her fingers. Now she remembered! There was someone who was posing a problem because recent developments were causing him to reconsider his neutral position. Nagamora had brought that up. "It came to my attention there's a boy living in Shinjuku by the name of Ryo Akiyama. He could be difficult if he's not dealt with quickly. Kill him."

Certainly. When would this need to be done?

"Now. Keep a low profile, but get rid of him."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo remained where he stood, although Jenrya had left a while ago.

Ryo had thought remaining neutral was the best thing he could do. If he remained out of the picture, then he wasn't responsible for anything that might happen. It wasn't his problem. There would be no blame if he didn't fight. But then Jenrya had gone for the real problem - what would happen if he did nothing. There was no way he could know that was exactly what Ryo had started to wonder.

It might get worse simply because he did nothing. _But…that's not the case. I'm as responsible for what I do as for what I _don't_ do. _Ryo shook his head, watching the setting sun from the roof.

_But what can I do?_ Ryo didn't have a partner anymore – he still had his D-Arc, but it was useless. It was true he still didn't know a great deal about every single thing digivice could do, but he didn't think that it would help him a very much, even though it did have limited self-defense capabilities. Ryo had no weapons, only what he knew. _But maybe that's enough._ After all, there were all those rumors that he'd caught wind of – and rumors generally had a ring of truth in them, so…_They really _are_ going to attempt a breach_. It was true humans had the advantage of greater numbers, but numbers meant nothing if they got caught with their pants down.

There were far more humans living in the Real World than Digimon in the Digital World. It was a ratio of ten to one. But if humans could fight back (relying on sheer numbers alone), who knew how many would be killed before they could overwhelm _them_. That wasn't a very good plan.

Ryo drew in a deep breath, his dark eyes focused on the sun sinking into the reaches of the skyscrapers. There had to be another way. Ryo assumed a fight was only possible once the enemy arrived in full; if anything, that would be a last ditch effort. But what if it could be prevented _before_ it happened? _"Take care of the threat while he's still preoccupied and your chances of victory are higher. Bite off the head and the body dies." _Yeah, he remembered being told that, long ago. _He_ told Ryo to take advantages of any weaknesses, to do whatever it took to win the battle. And then he'd gone right around and mauled Ryo right after.

_Of course, he didn't bite off my head. Although he definitely tried_. It had been unusually sloppy, but Ryo had lived, despite his injuries. But that wasn't the point.

_So if we start fighting before they actually make the breach and start coming in by the hundreds, we might have a better chance_. Casualties would be lower too. It meant Ryo would have to put himself in danger if he joined with Jenrya. Digimon were biomerging in greater numbers. It was only a matter of time before his partner showed up.

If Ryo agreed, he'd be targeted.

And it wouldn't be just his partner out for Ryo's blood.

They would order his elimination as soon as he went active. So far, he'd been lucky _they_ decided to overlook him simply because he kept to himself.

Ryo was so deep in thought he didn't notice the scrapping sounds behind him. Two of the electric lines running up the roof exit were slowly working their way out of their supports, writhing until the nails popped out and onto the ground. The last one fell silently against the gravel as the thin cables plopped one after another down. Ryo's back was still turned as they began to snake toward him...

He hadn't as much time as he'd thought he had. Things were serious, far more than he'd originally estimated. It seemed like Ryo had little choice but to consider the fact he needed to choose and - Ryo froze, his eyes flaring open. There it was again. That strange sound he'd dismissed only a second ago. He was immediately on his guard.

He whirled around as a cable rose up, winding itself around his legs and tightening.

Ryo fell flat on his back as he lost his balance. He scrambled to his feet in response, grabbing at the fence, but didn't get far. Something traveled up his trapped legs. With a sudden motion, the end of the coil snapped out and grabbed his left wrist, tugging it down with surprising strength and causing him to lose his grip on the fence. Gritting his teeth, Ryo struggled to free himself. With one hand, he reached into his pocket. His fingers closed about the cold surface of his D-Arc, thumbing a button as the thing around his wrist began wrenching his whole arm back. He pressed the screen of the D-Arc against the coil.

It slackened as the D-Arc came into contact with the cable wrapped around his legs. As the two touched, a bright silver spark jumped between the D-Arc and the surface of the wire, emitting a loud shriek. Another shock and he was able to kick the stunned things off his legs.

Ryo heaved himself to his feet, his face drawn in pain as the other one continued to pull his wrist behind his back with inhuman strength. His shoulder was close to popping out of its socket as it went ablaze in response to his arm being pulled back even further. Even now, the stunned wire at his feet was beginning to revive, the drugged snake-like movements quickening recovered.

But before he could retaliate with his D-Arc, the wire was abruptly around Ryo's free hand in a flash. It quickly wrapped around his wrist even as he threw his weight forward, trying to pull away. It tightened like a python. His trapped hand twitched as the blood circulation was cut off, the D-Arc gradually forced from fingers that he couldn't control. It went bouncing away. His right arm was slowly being twisted around, no matter how much he fought back against the two cables wrapped around his arms, pinioning them back. Ryo gritted his teeth, starting to see spots of pain in his vision...

"Ryo!"

Instantly recognizing the voice even through the haze, Ryo snarled: "It's me they're after, Jenrya! Stay out of this!"

But Jenrya refused to listen. A clear, non-human voice suddenly shouted above the rasps of the coils.

"_Gargo_ _Laser_!"

The coils suddenly loosened their hold and Ryo dropped like a stone. He fell on his numb hands. Looking up as he started to push his himself to his knees, he ducked as one of the cables rocketed overhead, shooting toward Jenrya and the Digimon at his side. Gargomon easily knocked away the attacker, his button nose twitching as it whipped around and wrapped around the barrel of one of his arms. With a bellow, he jerked the coil taut and applied the business end of his other gun-arm to the wire. It exploded as he emptied his ammo into it at point-blank range.

Ryo glanced up, his eyes going wide as he noticed the other cable shooting toward him again – he rolled away as it plunged into the gravel with as much force as a bullet right where his head was only seconds before. Where was his D-Arc? These things were trying to divide and conquer: while Jenrya and his partner were busy with the other attacker, he'd get finished off by this one.

The weaving wire closed in again, forcing Ryo to roll in the opposite direction. His fingers fell upon a handful of gravel and with a quick motion, he threw it at the coil. It snapped at the flying pebbles for a moment, deflecting them with rapid hits. Ryo scrambled over to where he'd seen his D-Arc fall, turning on his back with it in his hands in time to see the cable lunging at him again. He barely managed to dodge and it went into the floor again. Ryos' D-Arc pressed into the wire and shocked it with such force it went dead as the spark flared like a lightning bolt.

Ryo sat back, breathing hard as he warily nudged the coil with the side of his boot. No movement. He tried to catch his breath, his chest heaving as he stared down at the limp wire. It was just a wire again. But whatever it had been before, it had been definitely trying to kill him.

"Ryo, are you okay?" Jenrya ran over as Ryo leaned back on his hands and tried to catch his breath. The adrenaline was still there and he was tense all over. This wasn't good. Whoever had sent these things knew about him. Ryo glanced up at Jenrya.

"I'm fine."

Jenrya looked shaken as he held out a hand to help the other boy up. Unsurprisingly, Ryo rejected the offer, getting to his own feet. The two were joined by Jenrya's partner, who, Ryo decided (having given him a good look-over), was a rather large Gargomon. The Champion was checking his barrels, seeing how much ammo he had left as he came to a stop, towering over the humans. Ryo stooped down, picking up the D-Arc he'd dropped. God, his arms were _killing_ him. If they were sore now, he hated to think what they might be like later. Ryo suddenly noticed Jenrya was no longer looking at him, but staring at was in his hands.

"What?" Ryo asked.

"You have a D-Arc too?"

"Sure," Ryo nodded. He tried to turn it on, but the LCD screen remained blank. Damn. He'd used up all the power driving away those things. It would be at least several days before it recharged, which didn't make it very useful or practical. It would be dead weight until then, which was why he hadn't used it very much in the past. "I've always had one."

Gargomon cast a curious expression at Ryo. "Uh…who's this, Jenrya?"

"Gargomon, this is Ryo Akiyama." Jenrya said hurriedly. He looked like he was dying to know where Ryo's partner was, still turning the fact the new student had a D-Arc over in his mind. "Ryo, Gargomon."

Ryo only gave the barest of nods, pocketing his D-Arc. Both he and Jenrya knew this wasn't the time for a conversation. In fact, Ryo wasn't comfortable sticking around here, not when there might be more of those things coming after him. It was already troubling that they'd come after him in such a public place as a school. If he didn't keep moving, he'd continue to present a good target. Ryo glanced at Jenrya as he picked up his jacket from where it had fallen during the scuffle, his face neutral and calm. "Why'd you come back?"

"I still had more questions," Jenrya answered, exchanging looks with Gargomon. "And when I met up with Terriermon, I had to turn around. You were lucky we did come back."

Ryo was silent, his face brooding.

"Sooner or later they're going to send more than that."

Jenrya blinked as Ryo pushed past him. "Who?"

"Them. From the Digital World." Ryo continued toward the stairs leading to the ground level, his voice no longer amused. "They've tagged me as a threat. They might've failed this time. Or maybe the next few tries they'll keep messing up. But eventually they're going to finish me off. They're like jackals – they'll wait until I'm not paying attention or I screw up and then go for the kill."

Jenrya fell into step, a smaller Rookie resting on his shoulders. Gargomon had devolved to his lower form as Ryo was talking, Terriermon now listening in on this conversation between the two humans with cocked ears. . You couldn't run away forever and it looked like staying off the radar wasn't gonna work anymore.

He had no choice then. Not when time suddenly became even more of an issue.

Ryo opened the door, pausing as he turned Jenrya. "Maybe you don't understand what I'm talking about. They think I've made a decision and they're going to be after me like the others. Let's be realistic. You're _not _going to be there every time I need help. I'd say my chances are pretty low. I I were you, I wouldn't get bother getting worked up all over this."

"But you almost got killed!" Jenrya protested. It was weird how calm Ryo was. It was like he'd been expecting this for a long while.

"This time. I'm still alive. Who knows? Maybe next time will be different." Ryo began going down the stairs, hands in his pockets as he scowled. "I said I'd think about your offer earlier. I know you don't like me – "

Jenrya opened his mouth to say his piece.

" – but I don't think it matters much at this point. I'll do what I can, but it's not much." There was that cynical half-smile again, as if Ryo was mocking himself. "But that's assuming I don't eat the big one any time soon." It was almost ironic, that he was getting targeted for something he hadn't yet decided on. No matter how careful he could be, how many attempts he might live through, there would be that one careless mistake, that one slip-up…and game's over. Thinking about it, it was actually kinda pathetic, because this _really_ wasn't how he'd planned to live his life.

Everything had gone downhill that one dusty day in the Digital World. When Ryo first received those scars, when he'd lost his partner...

A mental sigh. Tamayo was going to be sad. She was such a sad woman to begin with: so shy and meek and introverted she didn't get along well with others because she had absolutely _no_ social skills. _What's she going to do without me?_ Ryo mused wordlessly. If he didn't keep reminding her to eat every time she forgot, or to rest when it was necessary, how would she get anywhere? Tamayo would be even more sad if he vanished one day. And, Ryo suddenly noticed, it was bothered him to consider this, that it would because of _him_ she would be sad. She shouldn't have to be sad because of him.

But maybe it would be better to keep her out of this. This was his problem. Only the necessary people should get involved.

_ Better me than her…_

**To be continued...**  
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As for the fact that this is AU and a crossover - once again, this is another of the "possible worlds", assuming that the one portrayed in the show is the best one. Therefore this would be the rather negative one.


	12. Thirty Ways to Answer a Few Good Questio...

**Thirty Ways to Answer a Few Good Questions (Please Read)**  
by Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: None.

=====================  
A mini-FAQ for Digital Shuffle since I've had some questions asked to me before.  
=====================

1). **What is a Golem?**  
Golems are data that start out originally as newly created Digimon, but are unable to survive the strain of life: they aren't true Digimon and they follow whatever orders they're given. They're incapable of comprehending complicated orders. Golems are basically "hollow", but they have an ability to absorb energy by touch. This is what I meant when Kincaid is referring to them as "vessals". Basically they're like walking sponges that you want to stay away from.

2). **I want a Rukato.**  
I'm trying to avoid pairings at the moment (except for Yamaka).

3). **Why isn't Character A or Character B in this/these chapter(s)?**  
Because I didn't have time to include them. For example, Chapter 9 - I was originally going to do a longer segment for Terriermon, along with one for Ruki (there was also supposed to be a conversation with Kaminmon and Impmon), but I felt there would be too many viewpoints and it would be a bit too confusing. If one character doesn't appear in the latest chapter, I'll probably include him/her in the next one (example: Kaminmon and Impmon's segment I've moved to be in the next chapter).

4). **What's up with the Juggernaut? How come Takato isn't controlling it? **  
In one of the earlier conversations between Juggernaut and Takato, it's more than implied that the Juggernaut will overpower Takato. In the merge, the Juggernaut comes out as being the "dominant" presence/personality. Think of the merge (flawed-unflawed) as water pouring into a mold, if that helps anything. As for the wires - because of Takato, the Juggernaut can manipulate certain objects through his Will and turn them into weapons. The Juggernaut isn't invincible; it knows that the closer to its "heart" (Takato), the more defenseless it is. If a threat comes too close, the Juggernaut _will_ lash out and do whatever is necessary to protect itself.

But despite the Juggernaut's strengths and it's dominance, Takato has more power than he knows. The problem is realizing its there and knowing how to fight back again.

5).** What about the villains, like Nagamora/Vajramon and Kincaid/? **  
Most of the original characters are only there to drive the storyline on or add onto the depth of other characters. For example, Tamayo was a last minute addition to give Ryo more depth, to show him from another viewpoint other than Jenrya's. I only go into Kincaid's viewpoint to provide a backstory: some people tend to focus too much on the protagonists and so the villians come off as weak and underdeveloped (I'm trying to avoid this but I'm not sure if it's working). I found that a lot of stories in this section will create an "all-powerful" villian Digimon, so I wanted to avoid that: although Kincaid and Nagamora _are_ quite powerful, they _can_ be killed by conventional means. Nagamora is more open to attacks than Kincaid because of his limitations (he can't turn instantly shift from human to Digimon). Also, I always found it hard to believe that one Digimon alone would be a huge threat - greater power in numbers and team work.

6). Y**ou made too many problems but didn't fix them in the story!**

Almost everything will be explained in later chapters. Problems won't be explained until they're explained to the characters. I will also be going through the entire fanfic once it's finished and begin a tighter rewrite to remove plotholes from when I changed plots or ended up not wanting to follow something I brought up earlier.

7). **It's boring, there's not enough action!**  
I'll try to add more action, although I'm a sucker for introspection and plot.

8). S**o wait, Takato went crazy?**  
Yes. Yes he did. But he still has a hidden strength, he just needs to find it.

9). **Is Jenrya going to save Takato or not?**  
In good time.

10). **Culumon is an important factor too. Without him, Digimon can't digivolve to their next level or have you been too preoccupied by the Tamers to even think about adding him in?**  
No, I haven't forgotten about him. He will be playing a larger part later - he's a part in Juri's Side Story, which is the next Side Story I've got planned. I'm already aware that he plays a large part in allowing Digimon to go up to their next level. However, in this AU verse, he has nothing to do with the children being able to digivolve their Digimon anymore.

11). **What's going on with all the original characters? I have no clue what's their deal!**  
I'll be going into their prospective histories later. Also, when I finish the fanfic, I'll write a glossary of terms and characters, which will have short summaries about them. More gets explained as the fanfic progresses. Certain details may be omitted to keep readers in the dark until the last moment. Most of the original characters have appeared in some fashion in Digimon Tamers, excepting Kaminmon.

12). **I also want you to try to make things a little less confusing because on my computer it shows the same sign for talking and thinking and that's dumbfounding me in a way!**  
I use "dialogue" for talking and _italics_ for thinking and it shows up fine on the computers I use.

13). **Wait, if Ryo's here then who else is going to be showing up?**  
Alice, Dobermon and Leomon (and eventually Saber Leomon). Gardromon, Lopmon and Marine Angemon won't be making appearances.

14). **Takato seems to think of Juggernaut as Jenrya because it has taken on his image!**  
This has already been established. See 8). for a large factor of that. Also remember the fact that the Juggernaut has no issues with manipulation.

15). **What happened to all the fanart?**  
The sketches and doodles I did way way back can still be found on my deviantart.

16). **How come you don't show the other Digimon's viewpoints?**  
Either I haven't gotten around to it or I only think that it will add to the general confusion by having too many viewpoints.

17). **The TV may be a lot more perky but it showed equal amounts of characterization in it**.  
I beg to differ. I personally found certain characters were underdeveloped in the anime (mainly Yamaki, Guilmon, Marine Angemon, and Culumon). They might have good backstories - or lack of them, in Yamaki's case - but most of DigimonT amers was centered on the show's namesake: the children themselves. Things were explained from _their_ view (Guilmon's growth is noticed by Takato and for most of the show, we're seeing things from Takato's view, not Guilmon's).

18). **What's Guilmon thinking? Where'd he vanish off to?**  
Guilmon's been affected by the merge because of his bond with his Tamer. Because the Juggernaut now shares this bond, Guilmon hears "whispers" that he believes is his Tamer. He's under the corruption of the Juggernaut using Takato's Will.

19). **Why is Ryo all weird? How come he's different?**  
Because he's one of the first real departures from the characters. For the most part, the characters have been themselves, despite the fact that_ Digital Shuffle_ takes place in another "possible world". As I think I've explained all too often, certain people will be different because certain events happened in this world than the anime's one (once again, I've made hints at the crossover between 01/03/X-Evolution). Ryo _does_ go to the Digital World, but he leaves prematurely. He's a totally different personality because of his experiences there, which aren't positive at all. The reason why he's different will be explained in the chapters leading into his Side Story, which will explain in full detail what happened to him in the Digital World. Or, at least, his version of it.

See Chapter "Knight of Thorns" for what I mean. However, just because Ryo's been pretty much a jerk the whole time doesn't mean I hate him; he's actually my favorite. :) Hence constantly writing his POV.

20). **Where's Cyberdramon?**  
He's out there, but won't be making his appearance for a while. He'll be playing an important part right after Ryo tells his Side Story.

21). **Why is Ryo 10? Isn't he supposed to be 14 if the others are 10?**  
Yes, actually. But he's had his age jumped down - however, he's closer to eleven than then when he first appears, but his birthday won't be mentioned in Digital Shuffle. Physically, he's ten, but he's older mentally than the other Tamers. The reason he's now younger is because I wanted him to be in the same class as Jenrya.

22). **Wah! I don't know what's going on! It's all so confusing!**  
It's a pretty tl;dr fanfic, written from pretty long ago (2001 self being retarded, meet 2009 self, being slightly less retarded). If you have the patient to get this far, you should get a medal.

23).** I've got questions, what should I do?**  
E-mail me. Or PM me.

24). **Can I make a pairing request?**  
I'm sorry, but I don't do pairings.

25). **How come you seem to play favorites? All you write is Jenrya, Ryo and Takato.**  
I write the characters I like the most, usually. I have a soft spot for Ryo in particular these days, but Jenrya and Takato are my favorites as well.

26). **Do you have a beta reader?**  
Nope. I go over it myself after I've finished the chapter and uploaded it - this is the reason why there might be several versions of a chapter over the course of a day. I'll read the uploaded chapter and note all the mistakes, then go back and fix them, then upload the corrections onto the Document Manager and replace the obsolete chapter. But then I might miss some from the first reread, so I'd go back and correct it. Sometimes the cycle continues several times. And sometimes I _still_ have careless spelling mistakes.

27). **Do a lot of people get confused by your story?**  
So far, only two or three. Less than I would have thought - I usually tend to ramble a lot. Most of the people that appear to read my fanfic tend to have speculations or questions, but for the most part they understand it.

28). **Why do you take so long to update?**  
Because I'm working. And it takes time to write chapters since they tend to be long.

29). **Is Digital Shuffle going to have a happy ending?**  
Depends on your definition of "happy ending". It won't be a tragedy - for example, there won't be a huge slaughter or anything - but some characters won't be there when everything is all over. It should be a bit bittersweet, but there _will_ be closure. If I ever get there, I hope to make the ending epic.

30). **How long have you been writing fanfics?**  
Since 2001, but anything from then is pretty awful. I've had some more practice writing for Star Wars and Supernatural, thanks to LJ communities like "damned" though.


	13. Golem, Golem

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own Digimon.  
**Author's Note**: An AU of Digimon Tamers. This will have crossover with other Digimon series, but most of the main characters are from Digimon Tamers.

**Archive**: Sure, go right on ahead. Just ask me first.

_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold **for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

_"Dialogue"_ is similar to telepathy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Golem, Golem)

Chitose Saiki was drunk.

It wasn't fun, being drunk this late at night. For one thing, she wasn't quite walking straight and no one was able to drive her home. They all lived in the opposite direction. And besides, Izumi told her, she could use the exercise. Walk it off and stuff. Chitose's legs were wobbly and she doubted she'd find her way home. It would be humiliating for her if one of the koban officers were patrolling the area, because she'd probably need help getting home. Of course they'd be very polite and helpful. But it would still be embarrassing.

The woman staggered across the street. She didn't trust her feet at all, the powerful dry winds pushing at her. Chitose was forced to bend against it.

Leaning on the railing heavily, Chitose went on her way, her eyes glancing blearily at the dark shrubbery around her. She wasn't quite sure why she'd gotten so wasted in the first place. She wasn't even from around here, but she'd been visiting a couple of friends, one of who let her stay at his place until she had to go back to Ueno. It must've been something important. Something about a break-up…? Or maybe she'd just gotten fired? Maybe even both?

In fact, she was more than just drunk. Closer to being completely hammered.

Chitose neared the bubbling fountain in the middle of the small park. Her weight resting on the railing, she paused for breath, her gaze sweeping the area as she brushed her hair from her face. And then did a double take, suddenly noticing something – where _was_ that light coming from? That sickly blue glow? She couldn't see any source – it was simply _there_, casting the fountain in its pale light. It wasn't natural.

In fact…despite the fact everything was still fuzzy, some instinct was begging her to turn around and leave .

But she didn't listen to it. Chitose was close to getting sick as she clapped a hand to her mouth, shutting her eyes and wishing the nausea would go away. Her other hand tightening on the rail, she sat back on her knees, the office lady resting her forehead against the cool metal. She hoped she wouldn't get sick. Not out here.

Swallowing her nausea, Chitose glanced over her shoulder. And froze, blinking in astonishment as she noticed the unexpected visitor she had.

_What _is_ that?_

A small animal peeping at her from around the fountain. It wasn't very big, but whatever it was, it was strange looking. It looked like a bizarre mix between a small dog and a cloud. It looked like she was starting to see things now, because half of the animal's body ended in a swirling tail of blue, opaque gas. Well, it was probably just a lost puppy her imagination was playing tricks on. She didn't know what a Tapirmon looked like (she wouldn't have believed it even if she had). Chitose turned around as the pitiful little thing half-crawled, half-floated toward her. _Poor thing! _It looked so skeletal, like it hadn't been eating in a while; she could clearly see the outlines of its ribs through the lightly furred hide. It looked like it was going to keel over at any moment.

"You poor thing," Chitose breathed. It stumbled over to her, the silver eyes fixed on the kneeling woman. "Who's your owner, boy?"

The weird puppy didn't make any noises as it approached Chitose. She held out one hand to it as it came closer. The creature dragged itself toward her, foot by foot. "I can't believe someone would actually abandon you. Poor thing," she cooed as it stopped only a foot away, the plated nose sniffing at her outstretched fingers. A noiseless snuffle. Its breath was cool, like a winter gust.

It pounced at her.

With a startled screech, Chitose fell backward…and backed right into the railing. Before she could scramble away from her attacker, the Tapirmon was on her, still silent. It dove head first into her – like a ghost, it went right through. Chitose stiffened as the tail of the cloud vanished into her chest. _Something _was being pulled from her, she was suffocating as the frightening numbness spread from her chest all over the rest of her body.

Eventually the struggles ceased.

The Tapirmon squirmed free from the human as it slumped lifelessly against the metal bars. Chitose's staring eyes had been bleached silver, colorless as the Golem pulled first its long snout and then the rest of its body out from the host. The orders had been clear and the dead face of the Rookie turned toward the direction of the Juggernaut, its new brown eyes emotionless. The orders were simple: "overtake", "host", and "pool". That had been all that the brainless creature was able to understand, but it followed those orders with a singe-minded zeal. A glow shone throughout the unstable hide of Golem as it took to the air, as if something inside it was lighting it from within.

Several people claimed they saw lights in the sky flying that night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Impmon shivered, rubbing his gloved paws furiously against each other in an attempt to warm up. Stamping his feet didn't work, but at least it gave him something to do. Standing in his behind the billboard, the fierce winds couldn't reach him, but it was still pretty cold.

It hadn't been a good week. Last night was one of _the_ weirdest experiences ever in the history of ever. _Sheesh, this place is turning upside down!_ He didn't have any idea why and he didn't want to stick around to find out. Maybe he should leave Tokyo. There was no point in staying. He didn't even know why he was still lurking about here. If he'd been smart, he would've left a long time ago_._

The wind was roaring by, whistling angrily as it lashed through the skyscrapers. The humans below were still scrambling after last night and he didn't want to have to deal with them right now. 'Sides, who knew if Fox Face was still looking for him? He didn't feel like dealing with those kids right now, those almost pitying looks that their Digimon gave him. It was disgusting!

He winced. A flash of green eyes, a glint from a huge blade. Pigtails. And then a blank.

It wasn't hard to work himself up into a good sulk. Impmon was already feeling sorry for himself, and it had been awhile since he saw Calumon. He didn't want to admit it, but…he was actually kinda lonely, sitting here by himself, shivering in the wind.

He didn't immediately notice that wasn't alone. The Rookie started when a relatively familiar voice snuck up on him.

"It's a miserable day, isn't it?"

Impmon jerked, casting about for the source of the voice. Where in the…? Who could be up here at this time of day, in this weather?

The voice continued speaking, as if in casual conversation. "But of course a little wind never hurt anyone."

Impmon stared in open surprise as a young boy came into view, walking easily along the railing surrounding the perimeter. _Hey…I _know_ this guy_. Okay, so the name wasn't coming to him, but Impmon definitely recognized this particular human. And those stupid yellow goggles, yeah he remembered those too. The human was one of those "Tamers". The short one that went with Guilmon. What was his name? Started with a T... _Takato_. Takato strolled toward him at a leisurely pace. Impmon was instantly on his guard; something was weird here…

Takato hopped down from his perch, his too-bright blue eyes on Impmon. It was unnerving the kid was measuring him up.

"You've been elusive, Impmon. I was afraid this be a wild goose chase."

Impmon frowned. From his limited experience, this kid never talked like that. He was moving strangely too, stiffly. The expression didn't belong to the Tamer. And, to top it off, there was something different about his face: the virus-type couldn't place a paw on it, but something was out of place. Takato laced his arms around the struts as he stared at Impmon. "I've spent several days looking for you."

Impmon had no idea what to even say to that, other than that he really, really didn't like being stalked down.

"What's yer deal?" Impmon demanded. "How'd you even get up here?"

The human made a mirthless sound. "If it makes it less difficult for you, I'm not who I appear to be."

"Obviously. Pardon me if I ain't surprised." Huh. Impmon clearly remembered the Tamer vanishing right into thin air that night at Tokyo Tower, with the Guilmon that wasn't Guilmon. Even at the distance he'd been, he somehow sensed a difference. Takato disappeared. What he knew about the kid pinned him as a big old softy, so yeah, then he definitely wasn't dealing with the same human. Someone who stole Takato's face.

Probably a Digimon, then, 'cause humans couldn't pass themselves off like that. A few Digimon out there could do the whole smoke and mirrors thing, steal faces and memories and all that jazz. It creeped him out.

The boy put on a smile. That's how Impmon saw it - he put it on like it didn't belong. "I've been looking for you for quite a while. Are you going to make this a waste of my time with meaningless banter?"

Indignation surged, but Impmon managed to force it back down before he did (or said) something stupid. Better to be on his best behavior right now. His hackles raised instinctively and the Rookie swallowed down the impulsive retort, a grimace revealing his small fangs.

"Very well," Takato took his silence as consent.. "I shall dispense with the pretense of pleasantries. Orders are orders, after all. It's nothing personal."

Orders? From who?

"My Mistress notes your presence," said Takato. "She sent me to give you a proposal. It would be in your best interests to hear me out."

Impmon was suspicious. It was weird enough here was a Digimon actually trying to contact him now. Why would they suddenly have an interest in him? After all, they'd left him stranded out here, with all these _humans_! If they knew about him, then why hadn't he been able to go home? Although he was naturally suspicious, he was willing to listen to whatever this Digimon/thing had to say. But that didn't mean he had to sign on the dotted line either._ I come first. I ain't servin' no cause I don't benefit from._

"I'm listenin'," Impmon grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Perhaps you noticed what transpired last night," Takato drawled. Impmon gave an incredulous nod. "It has all been planned, Impmon. You could play a role in this, if you so desired. These humans are weak. We will overtake them, these foolish little creatures that created us. We will rule over them. All of us, not just the elite. Not just the Ultimates. Not just the Megas. All of us. Would you not want to be involved in such a grand endeavor?"

"And what are you proposin' I do?"

"You could take up arms with us. You must have potential, Impmon, to draw the eye of my Mistress. She knows of your past transgressions, but she is willing to offer you a chance to redeem yourself. This is a rare opportunity she gives you."

Impmon blinked. "What d'ya mean, 'past transgressions'?"

Takato stared at him. "You don't remember?"

"If you could fill me in, I might," the Rookie retorted.

"You came into contact with two humans several years ago," said Takato, turning his hand over as if he was disgusted being attached to the thing. "Perhaps it is for the better you don't remember the details. The rift between our world and this one has been weakening and it is only a matter of time. Will you fight alongside us?" A sly blue-eyed glance. "We can see to it you'll digivolve. Assist us against the humans and everything you desire will be yours. You only have to ask and it will be done."

It was tempting. He wasn't sure what this Digimon meant by the whole thing about past transgressions though. It always bothered him there seemed to be gaps in his memory and he'd toyed with the idea of digivolution more than once. What if he digivolved? Would that make everything go back the way it was? It might jolt his memory. From the sounds of it, the Digital World had good chances of coming out the victor once the two planes clashed. _Don't really wanna be neutral when _that_ happens. _The Rookie scratched his head, mulling this over. You didn't want to be pinned between the two. Of course he wanted to be on the winning side.

Impmon got to his clawed feet, brushing his fur off.

"I'll think about it."

An icy smile. Takato's voice was stained with the threat, the boy's hand idly sparking with strands of dark energy. "Don't dwell on it too long, Impmon. I would hate to have to hunt you down personally."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo Akiyama was still alive.

_ Yes, we know._

The Juggernaut would have to continue its efforts. Both systems agreed. The Creator told them Ryo Akiyama was a threat to the plans of the Council she was part of. They also agreed this was true – but the Juggernaut also considered the fact Ryo could be a threat to itself as well. If he came into contact with the "obstructions" – the children with Digimon – and told all he knew, the knowledge could somehow lead them here. The dominant system disagreed with this suggestion: the calculated probability was far too low to concern itself with. However, it would keep this scenario in mind. After all, it couldn't afford to lose its "heart", so steps would be taken to reduce that risk.

_We'll try again?_

**Yes. Again. And again. Until he is terminated.**

_Then why not _now_? _Humans were usually still asleep now. There was experience in that area.

Because the human would be ready. The supercomputer would be as efficient as possible and it would serve no purpose to needlessly expend energy. It would wait until the target's guard was down and then try again. It hadn't known about the self-defense systems built into the D-Arcs. It _hurt _when the extensions had taken those shocks. It hadn't hurt the dominant system – no, it was funneled past it, to the lesser of the two. The Juggernaut hadn't felt the pain, but the other did. Whatever remained of Takato Matsuda was still aching from the encounter with Ryo Akiyama.

Because of the companion system, the Juggernaut was capable of feeling pain. But it was an effective arrangement, the Juggernaut only vulnerable if the "heart" was. But if the extensions – or the machine itself – were under attack, any physical sensations would be passed onto the more human awareness. This arrangement eliminated any distractions for the dominant side. It was rather effective, for its center was deep inside itself. Protecting itself would not be an issue. However, there were other things that needed to be attended to.

Both systems focused their attention on the sprawl of Tokyo. Visuals were narrowed down to a few cameras in the southern area of Shinjuku. Lurking along the edges of the Yuggoth program, the supercomputer noted the Golem didn't cause the watchdog programs to spike, not like Digimon did. And so it slid past. The Juggernaut turned one of its many eyes as the Golem – in the form of a Tapirmon – went for the closest host. It was monitoring the creature even now. The Golem was about to arrive, but so was the Creator, according to the lobby's cameras.

Of course the Creator wasn't really a woman. Or even a human, for that matter. It was just the form she took on. She was the Deceiver precisely because of that ability: a fickle Digimon, she only bestowed the gift of shape-changing on her closest cohorts. And even then they would never have her powers, not to her extent. She was one of a kind in that aspect, the strongest available. And now she was here again.

The Juggernaut was already well-aware of what was unfolding in the Real World. It knew about the operatives that had been chosen by the Council. It long ago categorized the positions for future reference. The operatives were appointed in a Line, each one's work blending into the other to be as effective as possible. The Founder prepared the way for his successors, prepared for the invasion. He laid the groundwork the Deceiver would work on. And the Deceiver would keep the humans unaware until it was too late. By then the Shield would be in place and deception would no longer be needed. Both systems approved of this way of working: it was the operation of a machine, each part doing their respective work and helping the others. Very efficient.

_The humans don't stand a chance, Jenrya._

** No, they do not. Not when the Shield arrives.** The humans would be trapped in Tokyo, this newest operative would keep them locked within the city's boundaries, as well as keep out any outside interference. **Humans have never stood a chance**, the dominant side said. **They are disorganized. _You_, however, are fortunate.**

That was true. The lesser part of the supercomputer understood this. It understood whatever it was told.

It trusted the Juggernaut without question.

It already came to the Juggernaut's attention that Takato Matsuda's companions – his "friends" – had begun looking for him. And that one of them had already spoken with the target Ryo Akiyama. This could be a problem. Especially since there were things (like the properties of the D-Arc) that he could tell them. The shocks the digivice sent went right to the Juggernaut and a powerful enough one could actually stun it: it wouldn't be able to access the electronics in the immediate area until it got its bearings back. Which could be several minutes to half an hour, depending on how far away it was. The closer they were, the faster the recovery rate.

The "heart" was still concerned about the Juggernaut. Was it hurt?

**No. Of course not.**

A surge of something resembling relief.

The Juggernaut began organizing the information that was filtering through with expert ease. In a way, it was like looking down at its own body: part of the Juggernaut once had a faint memory of walking on two legs, of seeing things with only his two eyes. But that was irrelevant now. Combined, the Juggernaut and the companion system were perfect. The power of the companion system's Will and the Juggernaut's own unwavering focus were unstoppable.

The Creator was in the elevator now. And the Golem – a small glimmer of light like a will o' wisp – approached the building. It simply went through the walls, oblivious to everything, drawn toward the pool next to the Juggernaut's chambers. A quick rotation of the cameras. A majority of the population was sleeping in the Shinjuku area and none of the extensions were picking up any activities that required closer inspection.

Kincaid Donovan arrived. The Juggernaut turned on all the lights in the smaller room, flooding it with a harsh yellow glow as the Deceiver began to resume her shape: both sides, dominant and submissive, were curious about this "experiment" of hers.

_ …hat will it be like?_

** It will be like the deletion of a Digimon. But we will be uploading the "data" it carries.**

_Ah_. That made some sense. But then again, everything Jenrya said made sense.

The various monitors around the still pool began to hum to life as Kincaid approached. The lens zoomed in. She was saying something, her mouth moving. There was the briefest of delays as the Juggernaut translated the vibrations in the air to binary code.

" – failure. Why is Ryo Akiyama still alive?"

_Jenrya, do we really need to kill…?_

** If you want to stay the way you are, yes.**

That quelled any other "suggestions" from the submissive system.

Text began scrolling across the nearest computer screen as the Juggernaut explained the delay in its task. Another human had come to the target's aide. It appeared the D-Arcs these children carried differed from the original digivices. These were not the same as those the first nine carried. They were stronger.

"Hmm…is that so?"

Yes.

Kincaid scratched the back of her head, running too-long fingers through her thick purple hair. "They must've evolved somehow. No one knows a lot about those things to begin with," She paused, her mouth making an expression of veiled disgust as the room brightened at the new arrival: the Tapirmon Golem was waiting stupidly at the pool's edge, having just floated down from the ceiling. Kincaid disdainfully ignored the creature. "It looks like we'll be beginning."

She seated herself at the console nearest the pool as the Juggernaut turned its "eyes" on the Golem. It was still hovering, staring straight ahead.

"Into the water," the Creator ordered it coldly. She didn't even bother to look at the Tapirmon to see if it complied. The glowing creature obediently dove into pool, sinking underneath the surface. Her fingertips flying expertly, Kincaid began setting up the experiment's perimeters. Both sides of the Juggernaut set to work getting the pool ready for the deletion. A surge of power and the waters suddenly rippled under its manipulations, lit from within by a moss-green glow. The Golem was a soft blob of gold shimmering in the depths of the pool.

"Go ahead and delete it. Remember, I'm monitoring this, so keep it neat."

Very well.

Around the pool, a ring of red markers lit up as the Juggernaut fed more power to the "pool". The green glow increased as the supercomputer began deleting the Golem and the burden it carried, the life of a drunk. The Tapirmon slowly began to dissolve into data particles. Light leaked out, oozing into the water as more and more of the Golem began to break apart.

And then the Juggernaut began to upload the energy of both the Tapirmon Golem and the host.

It was indescribable.

There were memories. A woman's life collapsed into brief glimpses of intense emotions, passions that varied between sadness, to pleasure, to anger and happiness. Inside its metal casing, the Juggernaut closed his eyes, drawing in a quivering breath as all of these sensations passed over him. Both sides of the supercomputer were fascinated with these feelings – it was a human they deletied, not a Golem. The Golem had only carried the aura of the unfortunate woman named Chitose Saiki. A good deal of this human was physical pleasure and recent tensions. They were so _human_, these emotions.

So human.

_ What I once was?_

**What we were once does not hold any relevance anymore.**

Oh, but this was all so familiar…

** But these are the only glimpses we will have of these humans. This and nothing more.**

It was intoxicating. This was human _Will_, exposed for what it really was.

It was beautiful, so tempting in diminishing glow. That light…

It was human.

** Upload is 50% complete.**

It was a reminder. For a moment, Takato Matsuda listened. For a brief moment, he wasn'tbroken. For a moment, Takato was only a kid again, not Jenrya's "heart". He was aware of himself, seated in the throne-like personality matrix. Unmoving.

The light had been so weak…and his own was the same.

It was suddenly over: Takato Matsuda faded back into the general consciousness of the Juggernaut.

** Upload complete.**

Kincaid whistled her approval as she leaned over the railing of the pool's walkway. There was no sign of the Tapirmon Golem. The Juggernaut gave a pleased hum from the machinery surrounding the calm waters: both systems could feel the sheer power thrumming throughout it, as if there was actually _life _animating its coils, and not just Will and electricity.

The Creator was grinning as she scanned the results.

"Ah, very good! Just great! No hitches whatsoever." A sudden thought and she twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. "Rather nice set-up, too. We can harvest more energy for you this way and get rid of some of those Golems. They're such a nuisance sometimes. But we can kill two birds with one stone if we use this method."

True. The Golems were weak, so it was natural for the stronger to take advantage of them. At least they were being put to a use.

Kincaid laughed at this comment. "My thoughts exactly. They're pests. It looks like I'll be calling in more of them for this." She planted her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at the computer screen. "How do you feel about this?"

The Juggernaut would look forward to it.

More vibrations in the air that were translated to binary. "The Golems that come here will go into the pool. When that happens, start deleting them. The more you delete, the closer we are to our goal." The Deceiver gave a chuckle as she strolled toward the door. "Don't enjoy yourself too much. I want you to get rid of those children while you're uploading. And as for that Digimon of yours…make sure he doesn't wander out into public."

The Juggernaut would see to it. Humans were such short-lived things: if a few were gone, no one would miss them. As for the Digimon in question – a little persuasion would easily keep the creature in line.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Guilmon felt sick. It wasn't the warm sick he felt when he ate too much. It wasn't full-sick. It wasn't that feeling he had when he stayed out in the cold either. This was a different sick. _Takato, I feel bad…_

He huddled against the curved wall of the tunnel, his amber eyes half-lidded as he shivered. Didn't feel good. But Takato would make it go away. Takato had called to him when everything turned weird. Takato had called for _him _only.

Takato needed him.

A twinge of pain from his side caused Guilmon to sink to his haunches, tongue lolling out in a pant. Oh, he was hurting! Takato had been hurt by someone (or something) and now he felt it too. His skin was all prickly and he ached with pain. His ragged breaths came in whistling wheezes. _Takato? _Where was Takato? He'd heard his Tamer's voice in his head, calling for him that night. And then again when he was with Terriermon. But Takato sounded different then, lifeless. He hadn't been screaming for help then, hadn't been crying. But Guilmon listened anyway.

"Takato…I'm here…" Guilmon rubbed his head against the smooth surface of the wall, closing his eyes as if he could will away the shared pain. Takato told him to wait for him _here_. But he hurt now. Takato was hurting too. Another brush against the wall, harder this time. "Where did you go?" Guilmon was babbling now – he didn't know why – but speaking out-loud distracted him from the prickly sensation. "Takato?"

Had Takato left him? Had he abandoned him?

Guilmon's throat caught. What if his Tamer grew sick of him? The Rookie hadn't thought of that. What if Takato called him here only to leave him? It was such a cruel thing to do. _Takato's not mean! _Takato hadn't a mean bone in his body. Takato would talk to him again, Guilmon decided with certainty. Takato would tell him why he vanished, why Jenrya told those lies to him. Takato would tell him what was going on. Guilmon let out a low, strained growl, banging his scaly shoulder into the wall.

"Takato!"

The cry echoed forlornly off the walls as Guilmon tilted his winged head, listening. No answer. Takato wasn't here yet. The shrunken wings drooped. He wanted to be hugged and comforted, but there was no one here. And the buzzing in his head wasn't going away either. It was maddening, distracting. Buzzing like a hive of bees in his brain. An irritated shake of his wedge-shaped head. The bees weren't going away, no matter how much he ground his skull against the wall.

_ "Guilmon?"_

_Takato! _Guilmon stopped in mid-rub against the wall, his eyes flaring open. Takato was here! Like he'd promised! But there was only puzzlement as the Rookie glanced about the tunnel. His Tamer was nowhere to be seen. He could hear his friend, but that was it. There was no distinctive scent, just the familiar voice. "Takato?"

_"Yes."_

Guilmon surged forward eagerly. "Oh, I've missed you, where'd you go?" In his relief, he didn't notice he was talking to the air, that the voice of his Tamer was residing in the nest of buzzing bees.

_ "I had to go somewhere, Guilmon. But I told you I'd come back."_

"Are you okay?" Guilmon asked with worry.

Takato certainly sounded healthy enough. _"…I'm fine now. Someone hurt me, but I'm okay."_

Guilmon felt a threatening snarl rumble through his chest as he strained to find the location of the boy's voice. _Who_ hurt his Tamer? His pupils shrunk down to dangerous black slits that were almost lost in the golden irises.

_ "It doesn't matter. I'll tell you later."_

Guilmon shook his head rebelliously. Someone hurt Takato, therefore he had to do something about it. But eventually Guilmon quieted down, his grumbles of anger falling gradually into silence as the boy waited patiently for him to finish his spitting growls. Now that Takato was back, his hive of bees had only gotten stronger. But his Tamer's voice was soothing and Guilmon eased back onto his hind legs, resting his snout on the cold floor of concrete.

_"I'm glad I can talk to you again."_

"Me too. It's been so long," Guilmon mumbled.

_ "I want you to stay here, okay? __It's not safe out there. They're looking for me."_

Guilmon blinked. Who was?

_"My friends. They can't find me. I don't want to be found."_

Well, that was weird. After all, Jenrya and Ruki were Takato's friends, weren't they? And Terriermon and Renamon…everyone was worried about Takato. Why didn't he want to be found? They were only trying to help, right? This was all very confusing. "But…"

_ "If they find me, I'll be hurt."_ Takato's voice said tonelessly. _"I can trust you, can't I?"_

Guilmon's jaws snapped shut, wounded. Of course Takato could trust him! They were best friends, weren't they?

…Weren't they?

There was only silence from Takato's end.

"You can trust me," Guilmon whimpered. Takato was mad at him, he could tell. Had he said something wrong? He must have. The Rookie hastily tried to fix whatever mistake he'd made. "I don't want you to get hurt."

_"Then you have to stay here. If they see you again, I'll get hurt. Please listen to me, this is very serious." _Takato's voice broke expertly, imitating the first signs of fear._ "I-I'm scared, Guilmon. You can help me. Please," _he repeated with the beginnings of desperation. _"I…I need you."_

Guilmon's eyes brimmed with tears now. The very idea that Takato was in pain, was frightened somewhere made his nose all runny. And there was guilt, too. Why hadn't Guilmon gone looking with the others? Why hadn't he known where Takato vanished off to? They were partners, after all. He should _know_ these things…he'd thought that they had a…well, _something _between them. Guilmon wasn't quite sure what exactly. The buzzing in his head grew even louder, drowning out even his own voice. It was only that and Takato he could hear now as he nodded tearfully.

_ "Then you'll help protect me?"_

Guilmon knew he was saying he would, but he couldn't even hear himself now. Just the deafening buzz and the lulling voice of his Tamer.

_ "You're bound to me, Guilmon. You'll help protect me from them. You're the only one who can. If you don't, I'll get hurt again…and so will you."_

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"Oh my."

Ruki glanced up from her backpack at her grandmother's soft exclamation. The elderly woman slowly sank down into a chair, her eyes focused now on the TV. Ruki returned to her tasks, at first only listening with half an ear as she began shoving binders and notebooks into her new backpack. Her mother had actually bought it, surprisingly enough. Ruki wasn't going to try to second-guess the woman's intentions: she was still wondering when her mother had noticed that her previous one was missing. _Whatever_. The Tamer wasn't going to fawn at her feet because of that.

"Ruki, come here for a minute."

Ruki got to her feet at the sound of her grandmother's voice._ Now what? More oatmeal? _She wondered ruefully. Although she didn't get along with her mother, she was usually nicer to the older woman. After all, her grandmother was little more than a bystander and she always seemed to see the good in people…Ruki couldn't despise her, it just wasn't possible.

Her grandmother turned up the volume.

"…found dead this morning," the newscaster was saying. The bearded man exchanged glances with the woman sitting next to him. "According to the officials, there is no known cause of death. Ms. Saiki's body was found at six this morning in the newly developed Takamori Fountain Park. It's suspected she mostly likely died of natural causes, but this hasn't been confirmed yet."

"My condolences," the other newscaster remarked, her red lips pursing as she shook her brown curls. "I don't want to sound harsh, but I _do _hope it was natural and not something hu –"

_Click_.

Ruki raised an eyebrow as her grandmother got to her feet. The older woman glanced over her shoulder, her frown worried. Ruki went back to getting ready to leave: she wasn't really sure how she was supposed to act, finding out a complete stranger just up and died. When you didn't know someone, you were naturally distant from them, and whatever happened to them didn't have an immediate effect on you. In went her pens, dumped into the backpack.

Ruki shouldered her backpack, turning around. Her grandmother was watching her. Ruki looked away, a little uncomfortable at the scrutiny. _Why _is_ she looking at me like that? _Ruki finally turned around, breaking the awkward silence.

"I'm going."

A weary sigh.

"Be careful, Ruki."

_How much does she know? _Ruki wondered as she closed the gate behind her. It was hard to say: sometimes she got the impression her grandmother knew everything she was involved in. Everything, Renamon, the wild Digimon. It was dangerous, what she'd gotten herself mixed up in. She didn't want her family to get involved. It was her business, hers to deal with. No one else's.

Frowning thoughtfully to herself, Ruki continued down the empty road. Renamon was probably watching her right now, hidden as usual. A snort._ Grandmother has nothing to worry about. _Ruki was a lot safer than most people. "Most" people didn't have their own Digimon, for starters. And although she rarely admitted it to herself – or to her partner – Renamon was good at what she did. She couldn't ask for a better guardian. There was an unspoken trust between the two. It was assumed that each would look after the other.

She turned down a side alley when Renamon appeared: she was suddenly sitting on a ledge a few feet overhead, her bushy tail curling at her side as she looked down at the approaching girl. There wasn't much sunlight between the apartment buildings and the darkness only seemed to make the Renamon's silky fur become even brighter.

Ruki had never actually stepped back and _looked _at her "partner". She was actually very pretty, now that she thought about it.

"Any luck?"

"Regrettably, no," Renamon got to her hind feet. "No Takato look-alikes. No Impmon either."

Ruki sighed. "We're getting nowhere," she said in frustration. "There's too much ground to cover."

Renamon joined her, hopping off the ledge. The tDigimon straightened, glancing down at her Tamer. What she said was all too true. There was simply too much area. And there was only so much Renamon could cover alone. Renamon fell into step with Ruki, who continued down the narrow alley. The wind that had grown stronger overnight was kicking up loose bits of debris, discarded newspapers and posters whirling dust-devils around their feet.

The Tamer simply ploughed through them. "I think we should try talking to this Ryo kid Jenrya was talking about. It sounds like he knows more about what's going on than we do."

"He might be able to help us," Renamon agreed. "Although I myself am curious just how he came by whatever knowledge he has."

"I'd like to find out too," Ruki said, hefting her backpack to a different shoulder. Next to her, Renamon was silent, her tail moving lazily behind her as she walked. Ruki was feeling a bit better since the attack, although it looked like her partner wasn't going to be as forgiving about it: she was still tense with suppressed fury that only shown in the smallest of gestures. "Maybe it's just me, but I've got a weird feeling about this whole thing…"

Renamon lowered her snout, her inhuman eyes averted.

"Whatever it is, it's already in motion."

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Another half-day.

Jenrya sighed. These days it started to seem like it was pointless to even bother coming to school, but he did anyway. Not because they were getting much learning done, but because it was the only way he knew how to keep in contact with Ryo. Ryo seemed to come and go like a summer breeze: he could be just as elusive when he wanted to. But Ryo seemed to show up for his classes and this way Jenrya could keep an eye on him. Jenrya was genuinely worried…or at least he told himself that he was. He refused to consider the idea that maybe (just maybe) the only reason he felt anything in the first place was because of what Ryo _knew_, not because he truly cared about his well-being.

But it was true. Even if he'd told himself otherwise.

He'd managed to convince Ryo to wait for him after school, that he, (as Jenrya had half-jokingly put it), would play his "faithful bodyguard". Ryo only rolled his eyes at this quip, but he'd taken the Tamer up on his suggestion. For the most part, Ryo still continued with his "superior" act in the presence of his classmates, but he was mostly just cool when left to his own devices. After a point, Jenrya gave up trying to socialize. They went in uncomfortable silence toward Guilmon's former den, where Terriermon was waiting. It was only when they'd begun to mount the stairs that Ryo spoke up.

"How many other people have you told about Digimon?"

Jenrya glanced at Ryo – the other boy had stopped in his tracks and was now facing him with another one of his unreadable expressions, as if keeping his face blank would prepare him for anything that came at him.

"Well, I haven't told anyone: I'm not sure about Ruki. But I know Takato has at least told one other person."

"Who?"

"I don't really know her that well…"

Ryo was quiet for a moment; his black eyes glazed over for a moment in concentration. He was still frozen in mid-step on the stairs, one foot on the step above the others as he spoke up, "It's that girl, the one with the green bow in her hair." There was only cool certainty in his voice. "The team leader."

It took a moment for Jenrya to figure out who Ryo was talking about. He stared – how could Ryo know? He'd barely spoken to Juri, and from his impression, Ryo hadn't made any contact with Takato.

"Juri Katou. She was – _is _Takato's friend."

Ryo didn't seem to notice he'd spoken. Without warning, he was suddenly moving again, turning and heading up the winding concrete stairs. Jenrya followed the other boy, bewildered. _What was that all about?_ His gray eyes fixed on Ryo's back. How could Ryo have known that Takato told Juri? _There's just no way…he couldn't have talked to Takato. _And he doubted Juri told him. The two boys winded their way through the sun-splashed stairwell, climbing higher through the brush. The wind was still strong, shaking the trees overhead furiously. Ducking his head, Jenrya followed Ryo.

Terriermon waited for them at the open gates, taking refuge from the blistering wind. _Looks like everyone's here. _Fine, not _everyone_– he didn't know where Ruki and Renamon were – but those who he wanted to talk to were, and that was the important thing at the moment. There were several issues he wanted to get straight: mainly the alarming disappearance of Guilmon, among other things.

Ryo was the first to speak up. "About this Juri Katou. What's she like?"

"She's nice, I guess. We haven't really talked outside of class."

"Did Takato tell you what he told her?"

Jenrya frowned as Terriermon crawled up to his normal perch on his shoulder. "He said he showed her Guilmon. I think she probably already knows about Terriermon and Renamon. In fact, I think Calumon has been staying with her for the past week."

"So she's with a Digimon. Is this one her partner?"

"No, at least I don't think so. I don't think she's a Tamer." Jenrya said. At least this he was sure of. Calumon didn't seem to be the partner type – actually, thinking about it, he wasn't sure just what kind of Digimon Calumon was. _A strange one, that's for sure_. As far as he knew, Calumon didn't have any attacks to speak of, no special powers besides being his cute, normal self. As for Juri – she didn't seem to be the type to have a Digimon. _Does she even have an interest in them? _It was true no one knew what qualified someone to become a Tamer; Ruki thought it was a matter of strength, both mental and physical. Takato thought that it was a matter of "will". Jenrya himself wasn't sure what to think.

"She can't stay in Tokyo." Ryo's eyes rose up to meet Jenrya's. "You have to convince her leave on that vacation of hers earlier."

Terriermon interrupted, his bead-eyes clearly confused as he raised a paw. "Excuse me, what's going on?"

"I'd like to know myself. What does Juri have to do with what's been going on?"

Ryo pursed his lips.

"She's going to get dragged into this. If she's out of Tokyo, she'll be safer."

Jenrya sighed. "Okay. I'll try to talk to her and see if she can convince her family to leave early." _It can't hurt to try._

"Now that you guys finished up with that, maybe we can get talking about what's _really _important." Terriermon poked Jenrya in the side of the head with a claw, eliciting a sound of protest from his Tamer. "I don't know if Jenrya told you, but Guilmon disappeared yesterday."

"Yeah, Jenrya filled me in."

"He was acting really weird when I was with him. Like he was distracted or something." Terriermon was talking to Jenrya now; it was easier to talk to his Tamer than this stranger that he brought with him. "I swear, I left him for a few minutes and he vanished on me."

Jenrya said nothing, glancing at Ryo expectantly. "Distracted?"

"Like he wasn't listening to me. Weird."

"Like he wasn't listening….if not to you, then who was he listening to?" Ryo mused. It was troubling, what this could mean. That much Jenrya could read in the other's expression. "This could be bad, if it's what I think it is."

"What do you mean?"

Ryo shook his head._ I can only think of one thing that might distract a Digimon like that._ But could he be sure? Maybe there were other explanations – what he was thinking of was the worst-case scenario - but the fact was, it was possible._ They don't know where their friend is. And if he hasn't come back by now, it isn't because he won't. He can't. _The more Ryo thought about it, the more he was convinced Guilmon's disappearance hadn't been due to curiosity (as hinted by Terriermon), but by something else. For Ryo, it was always the worst-case scenario.

"Digimon can develop bonds with humans," Ryo said quietly. A regretful twinge he ignored. "Not always, but sometimes. From what I've seen, it looks like you three have with your 'partners'." He held up a hand, barring any questions. "You wouldn't notice it – it's only obvious when one or the other is under some sort of stress, and that's if it's strong."

Jenrya and Terriermon exchanged startled glances at his words. Ryo couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Had they thought the only reason they were so close was because they were "friends"? _Human-Digimon bonds have nothing to do with friendship_, Ryo couldn't help thinking bitterly._ It never did_. None of his thoughts got past his cocky surface as the smile tightened.

"I_'_m getting somewhere with this. These bonds serve as a link between human and Digimon: from my understanding, they can convey one's feelings to the other's end, and vice versa. Among other things. I don't really know a lot more about them," Ryo's tone was sardonic. _Mostly because I never got a chance to learn about them. Getting almost killed _does_ get distracting._"The stronger the link, the more that can be felt through it. From what I'm hearing, Takato probably had a really strong bond with his partner. My guess is Guilmon must've felt something on his end..."

"…which means that Takato must be in trouble." Jenrya picked up the train of thought, his eyebrows knitting as he turned this over in his mind. _We have bonds?_ This was a new concept; he'd assumed that Terriermon and him being best friends was enough. But a bond? _Is it something more? _Jenrya dubiously glanced at Ryo – the boy met his gaze without flinching. _  
_

"Fear and pain are two of the strongest emotions. Because the main 'instincts' – the coding – of a Digimon is to fight, they're most sensitive to these feelings. It's the strength of the bond that determines how much of it gets channeled to the other end."

Terriermon's comfortable weight on his Tamer's shoulder shifted. Jenrya couldn't see his partner's round face, but he had an idea that his furry friend was a miffed at being referred to as only programming. His voice bordered on petulant. "But why didn't Guilmon feel anything before? I mean, he was pretty normal a few days ago."

"Don't know, I've been wondering about that myself. Takato was probably fine before yesterday." Ryo's face hardened as he regarded Jenrya and Terriermon. "Must be bad. Real bad. Normal pain doesn't drive a Digimon to wander off like that." For the first time, he looked away, his face stony, even through the smirk. "Trust me on this; Digimon have a crazy high tolerance for that kinda thing. It was probably something else. Worse."

_Something _else_?_ Jenrya wondered as he stared at Ryo. _If Takato's hurt, what could be worse?_

"It's always taking a turn for the worst, isn't it?" Ryo remarked. "But I don't think Takato's going to be the only one in trouble when things start to heat up."

Terriermon ogled at Ryo, his small mouth gaping open. Jenrya himself was torn about his options at the moment. There was of course a sharp fear for Takato – he was his _best friend_.There were hundreds of things he could have (should have) done that day, before Takato disappeared. He'd been planning to invite Takato over to his house – why hadn't he done it earlier?

"There's no point in obsessing over what's done and over." Ryo said bluntly, noticing the drawn expression. "Right now, what matters is what you're going to do next."

"Takato's my friend: I should've done something when I had the chance." Jenrya gritted. His helpless frustration was swelling – anger at himself, at everything that was happening now. At the things that he knew was beyond his control. At the moment, it seemed like it was everything that he couldn't take reign over, that he was helpless to do anything.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The afternoon passed into the dusky evening sky as the fog near Rainbow Bridge thickened. It was a strange fog, those passing by commented to one another, so unusually thick. But most shrugged it off and went on their way. No one noticed as the fog spread its ghostly tendrils across the waters. As the mist continued to grow, the center of began to become very solid, a dark shape gradually taking form. Shouldering a huge hammer, the Digimon continued to solidify…

Sitting at a computer console, Kincaid tilted her head, as if listening. She could _feel _the approaching Digimon. Given he'd digivolved, it was hard not n had to hide her grin with a gloved hand before the others around her noticed. A little late, but better then never.

_ The Shield. He's biomerging._

Below Hypos, the Juggernaut paused in the middle of routine sorting. The files – information on the last humans who had been involved with Digimon – were put on hold as it began accessing the nearest electronics to the disturbance's site, for a moment focusing its attention on fixing the location. A visual of a heavy "fog" over the suddenly placid waters popped up.

Ah, it was the next of the Line the Deceiver spoke so highly of.

Losing interest, the supercomputer went back to its tasks. There were other, more important matters that needed to be tended to. Both systems agreed it was necessary to work as efficiently as possible – already they could sense the Golems that began coming into the Real World. Three here. Two in Ueno. Four to the south. Their Creator put thought into action. Though there would certainly be a larger scale of awareness from the humans, the Shield would probably be settled in by then. By the time the humans started fleeing Tokyo, it would be too late. They wouldn't be able to leave.

_ …then you'll feed again, won't you?_

** I will. Am I not more important than the lives of strangers?**

Without a question. There was nothing that meant more than Jenrya's well-being. After all, it was important he ate. The stronger Jenrya was, the longer they would stay together. The dominant side saw no reason to correct this line of thinking. Let the remnants of the companion system believe whatever he wanted: after all, he wasn't sane enough to make his own decisions. The Juggernaut returned to the files – even then, it kept an eye on its primary target. An opportunity would arise. They could wait, both of them. There were two more that were to be dealt with as soon as that was finished.

It would, of course, use different tactics than those employed by the Digimon. There were easier ways to hunt these humans down, these humans who broke the taboo. The companion system's memories were easily dissected by the Juggernaut, picking out weaknesses that could be exploited, flaws which could be used against the targets.

Evening progressed. The large, ponderous Digimon slid into the water with hardly a splash as the digital field faded away. And things were quiet, once more, as more strange lights appeared over the city's sky. They were almost pretty, observers remarked. Those who saw the lights described them as glowing balls, like large stars.

More unearthly lights, and, in the morning, more bodies.

The Juggernaut absorbed everything: nine wasn't enough at all. Jenrya must eat more.

**To be continued...**  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Juri will be have a sidestory and yes, Leomon will be appearing.


	14. BlueEyed Encounter

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon  
**Author's Note**: An AU starting early in Digimon Tamers and spiraling off into all kinds of bad times. Will be a crossover with other Digimon canons. I've removed the links to the old fanart I did to remove clutter and 2001!fangirlism - if you're interested in seeing them, shoot me a PM :)

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similar to telepathy

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Blue Eyed Encounter)

That infernal machine made Kaminmon nervous.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't be standing so close to the thing, but his Mistress told him to come here and he obeyed without question. He was willing to follow her orders, but it didn't mean he had to like all of them. The Champion's tail swished with concealed agitation, grinding his exposed fangs against one another as he flicked a suspicious look at the silent, hulking shadow of the Juggernaut. From here, it was a towering black dome that dwarfed him.

Kaminmon turned his equine head as one of the monitors lit up. For a moment he watched the seemingly meaningless images flicker across, before looking away. It was unnerving, the way everything around the Juggernaut was constantly turning on and off, sometimes too quickly for him to catch.

The thing just couldn't be trusted. _It's not alive_. A glare at the Juggernaut. _And if it's not alive, it can't be killed_. If he couldn't kill it, it meant he couldn't take care of it if the thing ever went against orders (though Kincaid had only laughed at his concern). No doubt the machine knew that – there was an almost smug, self-assured air as the dozens of lesser computers – sitting on stands, shelves, all left behind – flicked on and off. Kaminmon scowled, shifting his weight on his cloven hooves.

"Getting along?"

Kaminmon bowed his head as Kincaid sauntered into view, passing through the aisle of computers screens. He wanted dearly to avert his eyes from the horrible form his Mistress wore so often these days, but he managed to assert some self-control. It was a truly ugly form, in his opinion,worse even than the boy-one he had to take in order to blend in. _But I don't have to stay in it as long as she. _Her simian tail was gone, her round face narrowed and devoid of the soft coat of mocha fur. Her silver-flecked eyes were much smaller, shaped almost like almonds now. Tiny. Human-beady. Human hair hid her ears, so small and misshapen now

A slight shudder. Humans were always the ugliest creatures.

"I await your wishes, my lady," Kaminmon began; he was careful to keep any signs of revulsion from coloring his voice. Kincaid waved the formalities aside with a gloved hand. "I have done as you asked."

"AWhat'd he say?"

"That it was necessary to think it over."

The Deceiver shook her head, her curls bouncing. "Three days. That's all. If he hasn't made a decision by then, bring him here." She grinned over at the silent form of the Juggernaut. "I'm sure we can handle a lone traitor."

Kaminmon caught the evident pride in her voice, the Champion feeling his shaggy mane bristle with the twinges of jealousy, the feathers on his wings rising like hackles. The Mistress wasn't praising _him_ for his work, not this time. Oh no, it was that _machine_, that abomination! To make matters worse, the screens were blinking on and off, faster and faster, as if laughing at him. They were definitely mocking him, he decided with a barely concealed scowl. Kincaid didn't appear to notice, pulling off a dark blue glove as she continued.

"The next operative has arrived, but he won't be settled in for a few days. They're sending more Golems over from the Digital World, but it's going to be a while before we'll harvest enough for the breach."

"I would be honored if there is anything I can do to assist you."

Kincaid held out her hand before her – the too-long fingers were distorted by the mirage-like quality of the air. "Perhaps you can." Kaminmon watched with morbid fascination as a lone wire snaked up from the darkness before the Juggernaut's shell and idly tapped against her wrist – Kincaid let it absorb some of the excess energy, the red fading a little bit as the wire sucked it up greedily. "There's an area to the west of us I want you to patrol. On foot, preferably. Along Shinjuku Central Park, probably further north. I've just been informed by the Council several Digimon recruits decided to biomerge prematurely."

Kaminmon nodded, the fur at his sharply accented cheekbones fluttering with the motion. "It will be done, my lady."

"Escort them somewhere safe and make sure no one sees you. I'll see to the punishment for their disobedience. After that, explain to them the situation." Kincaid shooed away the wire, pulling on her glove again and hiding the muted red glow. "I expect those brats to try to intercept them. Make sure they don't interfere."

"I will. They will not get past me," he said. But it was with distaste that he agreed. _I'll have to use that boy-body again._ It was disgusting and it chafed at him, to have to walk on two legs when he was meant to use four. But on the other hoof, he could toy with those humans again – and there were more, more than just that little girl he came across when he stole the digivice.

Kincaid still talking, musing out-loud. "I'm still rather surprised by the Council's choice for the Shield." Kaminmon kept a respectful silence, clopping after her as she moved down the aisle of glowing screens. "But maybe he brought his forge with him. Eager to prove himself, I bet."

Kaminmon tilted his long snout, absorbing this news. The grotesque Digimon wasn't privy to a lot of information, but he knew there weren't many forges in the Digital World – there weren't very many forests to supply fuel for any more than a few. _So if he's the Shield, then it can only be Zudomon._Of course. From the rumors, Zudomon was able to create anything with his forge and his mighty hammer: no doubt he would be working on something to pen the humans in. Zudomon was formidable. Already he was something of a myth as tales of a hermit, working in self-imposed isolation at his legendary forge, spread across the Digital World.

Personally, Kaminmon was surprised the Council (they were shrouded in mystery to him) would entrust such a task to one of the original eight traitors. After all, from what he'd heard, they consorted with _humans_ – he was still trying to figure out how those insignificant creatures managed to entice the former failures to their side – and after the whole thing, they were unstable. All had tried, at some point or another, to delete themselves. In the Digital World, there was no term for that and he hadn't been unable to understand the point until the Mistress told him. They had, she said with a disapproving swish of her tail, tried to commit "suicide". "Suicide" was a purely human thing, she continued. It was unthinkable among common Digimon. There wasn't even a word for such an evil decision. _Typical humans. Bugs. Only _they_ would think up something like that._

It was apparently another weakness that rubbed off on the humans' "partners", the Mistress mused to her servant, after coming back from a late night meeting with her lover; but Kaminmon could only think of the data that would've been wasted, if the eight had succeeded. To him, the idea of "suicide" seemed selfish_/Such a waste_! Even now, he couldn't understand _why_.

But the Council and the Mistress had bestowed their forgiveness on them, even honored one of them with the position of Shield.

"Currently, he's in Odaiba's waters, so I won't be into contact with him until he's finished." Kincaid shrugged carelessly, her silver eyes not even on her servant now, much to his sullen indignation. "I'll ask Nagamora to brief him – he's closer than we are…" The violet-haired woman blinked, as if suddenly noticing Kaminmon was still here, and snapped her dismissal. "I thought I gave you an order."

Kaminmon hurriedly lowered his head, all the while cursing himself. As his wings flared open and he began to visualize the two gateway points of his Divine Mist, he could have sworn the computers were beeping (chuckling?) scornfully at him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Juri said as she crossed the lawn.

"It's okay. I asked you out here. I should be the one apologizing." Jenrya ducked his head sheepishly as she joined him.

Juri sat down on the curb, flattening the material of her skirt. Jenrya wasn't at all sure where he should begin. A humorless mental chuckle. _I don't think "Hey, I don't know what's happening, but you've gotta leave now" is going to work very well_. His classmate toyed expectantly with the puppet, lying limp across her lap.

"So, uh, Calumon's staying with you?"

Juri looked up from the worn snout of the dog-puppet. She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, he comes and goes, but he usually comes back at the end of the day. So I guess you could say he's with me." Her questioning gaze was on him.

"That's good. Cool." Jenrya cast about for something – anything – to ease into why he was here, but his brain kept drawing a blank. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his shortly cropped blue hair, speaking up. "About that vacation you're going on…I don't mean to be nosy, but what day are you guys leaving?"

"We _were _going to leave in two weeks, but…" Juri trailed off. The puppet took over. It rose from her lap and turned to look up at him, giving an excited bark at Jenrya. "But Juri's dad said they're going to leave earlier, woof!"

"Why?"

The snout of the puppet scrunched. "Because Juri's dad saw the news this morning. And Juri saw lights last night!"

What was she talking about? What did lights have to do with anything? "Lights?"

"Lights, two of them, like big fireflies! Flying in zig-zag, zag-zig! Woof!" Juri made a face at the puppet. Clearly she didn't quite agree with its choice wording –the two didn't always agree, it seemed. She clapped a hand over the puppet's mouth, taking over. "I saw lights last night. They were moving in the air, like they were flying! My little brother kept saying they were UFOs who were going to suck out our brains and eat our souls. Or something." She gave a low giggle. "I don't know what they were. But my parents are getting weird about everything. So we're leaving sooner than Dad planned. In two days."

_Sounds like Ryo was getting all paranoid for nothing_, Jenrya thought wryly. "Are you going to take Calumon with you?"

"If he wants to, I guess I could sneak him with us," Juri paused, brushing a strand of hazel hair from her face as she glanced aside at Jenrya. "Is there something wrong?"

Jenrya shifted his position on the wall and shook his head.

"Not really. A… I guess you really can't call him a friend, but he was wondering when you were going to leave. It's really hard to explain." _Oh, _that's_ good. _Jenrya, frowning slightly, tried again. "I'm not really sure how to explain this – you know how we're fighting those wild Digimon?"

Juri blinked and looked down at her puppet – she was avoiding his gaze, her expression unusually solemn. "Yeah…Takato told me."

_Takato…I'm sure she's wondering where he is…_

"There are more coming, I think. So I was thinking maybe it would be better for you to stay out of Tokyo for a while." Jenrya scratched the back of his head.

Juri absently nodded as the boy on the wallclumsily tried to explain himself. She didn't say anything, but she was a little glad they were leaving early – she hadn't mentioned that those lights, dazzling and haunting, had sent a chill through her. In the past, she'd always used her puppet to make light of anything, even those serious, but now she couldn't. It just didn't seem right. _Jenrya and Takato, and even Ruki, they're all fighting, with their partners. What am I doing?_ She couldn't help feeling ashamed at her relief earlier, that she could leave. _I'm doing nothing. I want to be strong like them, but…_

She only smiled pleasantly as Jenrya finished the awkward explanation.

"I understand." Juri got to her feet, gathering the dog-puppet in her arms like it was crafted of egg shells. With a slight nod of her head, she turned and left, crossing the green expanse of the lawn. "Don't worry about us, we'll be okay!"

Jenrya watched his classmate leave, his mouth in a thin line. It was hard to tell what was on Juri's mind sometimes – she was (_is_, he reminded himself) like Takato in that aspect. At first glance, they were both happy, kind. Satisfied. But Jenrya, on the rare occasion, caught that unfamiliar expression on Takato's face when they'd been alone, when his friend hadn't thought he was looking. He wasn't sure what to make of it. He hadn't said anything, hadn't ever thought to bring it up. Jenrya let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Why, may I ask, were you so concerned about her well-being?"

Jenrya almost pitched off the wall in his surprise.

Half-hidden in the trees behind him, Renamon gazed down at the human, concealed behind the height of a particularly tall maple and the shadows it cast. She made no move to come forward, instead she remained where she was, a patch of tall sunlight captured in a graceful portrait of curves.

"I really don't know," Jenrya said. "But I figured it couldn't hurt to talk to her."

"So then this wasn't your idea."

"Nope."

Renamon reached up and leaned one arm, rippling with muscles under her flaxen coat of fur, against the tree trunk. "Whose idea was it?"

"Ryo Akiyama's," Jenrya sighed. The Tamer glanced up at the sky: a perfectly blue ceiling arced overhead, so blue and still it surprised him. Almost as if it was holding its breath, waiting for something that he couldn't see. "I don't know why. But what else is new?"

Renamon ignored the bitterness staining the human's voice. She hadn't been lurking in this area to bother with banal chit-chat and she wasn't one to beat around the bush, so she felt no particular wish to inquire how he was feeling or why. _Good. He's feeling the pressure of responsibility. _From her understanding, Jenrya had been suddenly thrust in the "leader" position – it would be a good way for him to grow up, she shrugged mentally. Renamon got down to business.

"We can't keep doing this, this way of 'winging' it." Her bush of a tail, glinting gold in the patch of light through the trees, swayed idly as she spoke. Although she didn't say anything, she was tense, uneasy. "Ruki says we need to come up with a plan – I agree with her. We've been wasting our time."

Jenrya's gray eyes narrowed. Were they implying that - ? But Renamon didn't say anything else, except:

"We'll be expecting you at Central Park's entrance. Perhaps Terriermon would like to come," Renamon appeared to fade backward as she spoke, her long snout lowering. "Don't make us wait."

And then she was gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The problem with people was they tended to be very stupid about things. The sloppiness, the laziness and the procrastination Yamaki saw in the reports...

_Incompetent idiots,_ he scowled, shaking his head as he frowned down at the papers. Reika told him he was far too critical of other people and that he expected too much, made impossible demands. He wouldn't know if his standards were set too high, because as far as he was concerned, it didn't matter, as long as the crews under him would _do their damned jobs_.

Leaving the reports on his desk, Yamaki got to his feet. His main office was private, thankfully, with a spectacular view of Shinjuku. Standing before the wide window Yamaki could see it was a clear day. _Winter must be coming_, he mused absently. Reached into his pocket, he silently lit a cigarette from Yayoi's lighter. It was surprising sometimes to think of how much time passed. Another year down.

A thin tendril of smoke drifted up from the cigarette, wound its way past the dark lens of his shades. Yamaki watched the people – like little ants – bustle down below, the line of cars and buses so distant they looked like toys from here.

_Four years, huh? _Yamaki supposed he hardened himself against the whole thing after a while, for there were times when he could only feel a cold fur, instead of the sadness he knew was more natural. But he hadn't forgotten. Behind the sunglasses, his eyes narrowed. The sun would be setting in a few hours. Days were shorter now.

And so was time. Frowning, Yamaki turned back to his desk, intending to stub out the cigarette and return to the Yuggoth deck. He hesitated, his eyes dropping to his open laptop.

Blinking away was a new email message.

The cigarette forgotten, Yamaki leaned over his desk to check out the screen. Despite his surprise, someone really _was_ sending him an e-mail. This address was only used if it was something pressing, something important needed his immediate, personal attention, which brought up the questions on the tip of his tongue. Was this some sort of prank? Had someone broken through all the security?

It could be some sort of hoax, even a virus. But his curiosity rose as he stared at the small icon at the left hand side of the screen. If it was a virus, he was confident he could deal with it himself. He'd made it his business to be on top of that kind of self-protection. Absently stubbing out the still-burning cigarette in the ashtray, Yamaki clicked on the mail icon.

A window popped up with a text document in what looked to be English. It didn't help he wasn't at all familiar with the language and he could only make out a few characters (no, "letters", he had to remind himself) that he thought he recognized. It was only a few paragraphs long, but it might as well have been a collection of scribbles. Normally he'd throw it away, but one word caught his eye, after he'd put the scratchy "letters" together with some difficulty.

Digimon.

That got his attention.

Standing almost hesitantly at the door, Reika paused. Usually she only ventured into the upper levels if Yamaki desired her presence (and not necessarily for work, depending on his mood), and she was unsure if she should be interrupting him now. Her hand hovered over the door as her eyes stared coolly at the gleaming wood. The model's lips pursed. True, the man might be her boss, but he didn't rule over her night and day, contrary to whatever he might think. If she had an issue to bring up, she could damn well do so without permission.

Reika gave a brief knock as she pushed open the door, holding a file against her chest as the tall woman let herself in. Unsurprisingly Yamaki was busy with something, staring at something on his laptop. Reika cleared her throat, her boss glancing up at the sound.

"What is it?"

Reika readily met the eyes hidden behind the sunglasses. Standing tall, she held out the folder. "These are the new reports for the Yuggoth deck. They finished all repairs on Yuggoth." She continued without stopping as Yamaki made his way around the desk, moving in that familiar, brisk stride she knew too well. "The tech teams are working on the lower levels."

The folder was taken – there, there was the familiar twist of his finely boned hand, moving just like she predicated, with that same, fluid gesture. It never changed, the personality that subconsciously colored those movements. Reika's face was expressionless as her boss hardly spared a glance at the folder.

Yamaki's voice was droll. "News like this doesn't warrant a trip upstairs."

Reika refused to back down, even though he was using his spare-me-the-idiocy tone again. _And you can spare me the crap, Yamaki_, Reika thought with a touch of irritation. _I'm not like the others, no matter how much you try to pretend I am_. "I didn't come up here to play messenger," she replied. "But I thought you'd like to know while I'm up here."

Her boss seated himself behind his desk as she was talking, tossing the folder near the laptop and leaning back into his chair. Reika wasn't surprised he hadn't bothered to offer a seat: Yamaki wasn't anymore surprised to see his employee sit down without asking. A tie, once again. For a while, there was nothing to say, as one looked across the wooden expanse of the desk at the other. Sunlight slipped into the room through the blinds, cutting across the room.

Reika broke the silence first. "I was going to bring it up – earlier, preferably in private. This isn't work related, so I decided I might as well get it over as soon as possible."

To his credit, Yamaki's only reaction was the slightest change in his posture; he leaned back a little in his seat, but that was all. The cigarette sent up a thin wisp of smoke; Reika noted somewhere, in the back of her mind, that he seemed to be smoking a lot more often these days. His silence was gesture for her to finish up whatever she wanted to say.

"I want to know how long you want this to go on." Reika said evenly. "Because I'm starting to think maybe it's been going on too long."

Yamaki's face was impassive behind the shades. Typical of him. Yamaki Mitsuo, after all, was blind to everything that didn't have to do with Hypnos and "vanquishing" the digital menace, she thought to herself sourly. In the years she knew him, never once had he asked anything personal about her, shown any interest in her except for the things that needed to be taken care of after hours. Nor had he acknowledged her when they happened to come across each other on the streets. _The man simply doesn't care -_

"And what makes you think that?"

Reika blinked: she'd expected him to wave her away, indicating fine, things were finished between them. That they were done and over. That they could go their separate ways. She quickly regained her composure. "I've been thinking about it – us – for a while. I didn't apply for a job here just to have sex."

Across the desk, Yamaki made a sound that could almost be mistaken for a chuckle.

"True."

"But I'm not at your beck and call for these sorts of things. That's not my job."

"Go on."

Reika pursed her lips. Before, Yamaki hadn't displayed any concern about what she thought. But now he was looking calmly at her.

"I'm not here for these sorts of relationships. I'm here to work, to do my job." Reika shrugged. "I can understand you needing me for a few months to look for someone else. But if it's something long-term…" Another shrug. The purple-haired model said nothing more. There was simply nothing to say: Yamaki knew that she would continue to honor the terms of their "agreement" if he wanted it to continue.

"…Is that all?" Yamaki mused. Taking the cigarette from his lips, he continued. "So, basically, you want something different. And it would only be expected of me to be businesslike about this and close it, is what you're saying."

"Something along those lines."

"I'll think about it. There are some other things I need to see to," behind the sunglasses, he glanced at his laptop. "But we can discuss this – in depth – somewhere less formal."

The conference was over. Reika got up and left without another word, her stride unhurried as she left Yamaki in alone in the office. Reaching up and removing his sunglasses, he glanced down at the laptop. The screen was still glowing, the message was still where he left it open. It wouldn't be difficult to get the thing translated. But, staring down at the laptop, Yamaki didn't do anything. For a moment, it didn't really matter as much as before.

For some reason, he kept thinking back to Reika and not his work.

_So she wants to make some changes_. Fine, that was understandable – everyone had the potential to be bored. It was foolish of him not to foresee this little complication. He knew Reika relatively well, but now, thinking about it, not that well. Come to think of it, he didn't really know her beyond the physical things and whatever was in her profile. It wasn't that there was no way of knowing; he'd simply seen no reason to go any deeper.

Yet another thing that he was going to have to plan.

As if it wasn't hard enough keeping his eye on the monsters threatening his world, it looked like now he could look forward to something he wasn't at all prepared for: personal matters.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid stretched, flinging her arms over her head with abandon. There was an audible _pop_ and for a brief second she was certain her limbs were close to dislocating. It was funny at times just how fragile humans were. It was actually sort of exhilarating. Exciting to think that she was actually _vulnerable_. Of course, Nagamora didn't seem to share her optimism. No, the Founder was still paranoid about the whole thing – if he was to be wounded, he would prefer it to be from honorable battle, _not s_omething foolish because he simply wasn't being careful. "It," he told her before leaving for the Real World years ago, "isn't something to look forward to. I don't like this feeling of helplessness."

_Oh well. At least _I'm_ having fun_.

Kincaid knelt down next to the open panel before her. Holding one hand up to keep her hair from getting into her eyes, she peered into the mess of cables. All had been mysteriously disconnected, ejected from their sockets – once again, the Juggernaut was looking after its own interests. It would keep rejecting the wiring for the breakers no matter how many times the humans tried to reconnect them. It wanted full access to the building it resided under.

She rocked back, her butt plopping softly against the tiles. It wasn't a good idea to try contacting Nagamora. The Founder was more than busy while her job wasn't that difficult and it would get even easier once the Shield was ready. _Hell, I might as well resign at that point_. No point in trying to conceal something when it didn't matter anymore. In a few days, she would have a lot of free time on her hands.

Kincaid blew a hearty sigh through her bangs. _Sucks that Nagamora gets all the fun…_

"Something wrong?"

Kincaid glanced up as Reika joined her, the taller tech seated herself in a nearby swiveling chair, her nails tapping idly on the armrest. Something bothered the human. They were so hard to read sometimes, what with their unpredictable behavior and all. But Kincaid didn't see any reason why she should go out of her way to understand them.

Kincaid gave a wave of dismissal, flapping her hand lazily.

"Nah. Bored. You?"

"Somewhat."

Right now Kincaid was in no mood for pretending to be friendly with a human. After all, there were a lot of things that she should be thinking about, such as formulating plans for the future. Trying to figure out an efficient way to get more Golems into the Real World. That sort of thing. Real work.

Reika glanced at Kincaid, frowning to herself. She had never been able to actually voice it, but there was something off about Kincaid Donovan. A vibe. Or something. Her hair was too bright, a shade of purple that wasn't natural even if it was dyed. Her eyes were too luminous, too catty, imbedded with flat shards of crystalline silver. The way she moved was strange, too, like sometimes she didn't know what to do with her arms and legs. A lot of small things, really.

Probably not enough to go running to Yamaki about.

Speaking of her boss, she had no idea what to make of her meeting with him._A place less formal, huh?_ _Any more informal and it's in danger of becoming a date_. The very idea was ridiculous. Yamaki Mitsuo simply didn't run things like that. There was probably some other ulterior motive. That, or maybe Yamaki was so paranoid he thought the walls of his office were bugged now. Maybe that was it. Although Yamaki's work was unknown to the public, he was bound to have made some enemies with that attitude of his.

_But I can't be used against him._If that had been the case, Yamaki would never risk the nightly visits. She supposed she'd never understand the man completely. Sometimes she wondered why she even tried in the first place.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So she's leaving then?" Ryo mused thoughtfully, in the middle of shrugging out of his heavy coat. "Awesome."

Trying not to shiver in the biting breeze, Jenrya hugged himself tightly for warmth and nodded. Awesome was one way of putting it.

Ryo was waiting for him again when Jenrya came across him, leaning nonchalantly against the trunk of a withering tree and watching him approach. It was unnerving how Ryo seemed to have a knack for appearing out of nowhere like that; it was impossible to find the new student before, no matter how hard he looked around Shinjuku. But he was always there whenever Jenrya had something to say, something to report. Ryo would be waiting then. But only then.

Today Ryo was less subdued than before, the smirk hovering, as if daring the world to throw its best at him and to get it the hell over with. But things weren't that simple, and Jenrya noticed the dark spots under Ryo's eyes. Despite whatever impression Ryo tried to give, he wasn't as unconcerned as he appeared to be. There was little doubt in Jenrya's mind that Ryo hadn't slept much. _I guess it makes sense when you don't know when or where you're gonna get attacked. _But was that just it? Or was it something else? Ryo was pretty close-mouthed about himself.

"But I'm not sure that's going to matter if nothing's done," Ryo interjected through his thoughts.

Jenrya glanced down at Ryo. The older boy was leaning back, his arms resting along the back of the wooden bench and watching a dog bounding after its owner across the pond. The smug expression was still there. But so were the dark bags.

"I think you should come with us to meet Ruki, Ryo. She's also a Tamer. We're going to see if there's anything we can do."

"Yeah, right."

Jenrya ignored his cynical remark.

"It's safer, anyway. I mean, if what you say is true about your D-Arc, you don't have any other protection. Renamon and Terriermon will be there, so it's a lot safer than staying at home or something."

"..Sometimes I wonder why I even care any more," Ryo muttered under his breath. His voice rose as he turned his head to look at Jenrya standing next to the bench. "I'll come." He shrugged, a dry smile on his face. "Might as well get it over with before those bastards finish what they started."

Jenrya was startled at this. His mood changed like mercury and it almost sounded like Ryo was resigned to a premature death. As if…as if he had been expecting it for a while, as if he was laughing darkly at the whole thing. _Did he know that if he came to me they – whoever _they_ are – would come after him?_ Jenrya had been wondering that for a while. From what little he knew of Ryo, the older kid simply didn't take risks that weren't necessary. And he already knew he was a potential target, from the sounds of it. Jenrya glanced aside at him. Ryo was looking away again as leaves rasped and fluttered from the tree above, his profile grim.

A sudden thought. _Maybe he isn't here only to help us_. It could be something else.

_What are you waiting for?_

"You'll be safer with us," Jenrya said quietly. "Terriermon and I can handle whatever those things were."

"I'm sure you two can."

"Then what's with the attitude?" Jenrya was surprised to find himself snapping in annoyance.

Ryo waved the outburst away. He wasn't impressed. "Just thinking you're wasting your time protecting me." All too true. Jenrya was being far too optimistic about the whole thing. Decidedly pessimistic, Ryo considered himself to be the exact opposite: a realist. By seeing all the things that could go wrong meant he was better prepared than if he turned a blind eye to it all. "Anyway, I agreed to doing what I can. Where should I be meeting you?"

Jenrya was taken aback at this sudden change.

"I guess two hours from now. Here. I'll take you to the meeting place."

"Fine."

Ryo didn't watch Jenrya leave. Sitting back against the back of the bench, he closed his eyes. The dry whispers of leaves against each other, drifting down in spirals, in a gentle snow of orange, brown and reds. Even through his closed lids he could see a muted glow from the fall daylight. This would probably be the last time he would be able to sit and enjoy the most simple of things; he doubted he would have another chance. Hard to do that when you were either dead or running for your life. Again. Ryo opened his eyes, his mouth tightening into a line.

It wasn't exactly something he looked forward to.

He leaned his head back, tilting until he could watch the endless expanse of sky above. A pure blue greeted him through the branches overhead. The Digital World's sky had been so different – there had been something just artificial about it, fake. As if it was trying to be something it simply wasn't. Ever since he'd stumbled back into the Real World, into Japan again, he'd become so much aware of how _alive_ everything was here. Not like the Digital World. Dangerous as that place was, it was still run, in the end, by zeros and ones.

Still, it was embarrassing to think he was gonna get killed by a bunch of lousy numbers. Totally stupid.

Ryo's expression didn't change to follow his thoughts; he'd become so accustomed to the laid-back mask, to the easy-going smirk. His face was composed as his thoughts took an all-too familiar turn. _He's probably going to be appearing soon_. There wasn't a doubt mind they'd run into each other. Just a fact of life. _Probably still thinks I need to be "defeated". Or whatever._ It was only a matter of time. _I'd rather deal with _him_ than with whatever the hell those things were earlier._

He'd be damned if he wasn't the one laughing when he (eventually) got killed. A bitter smile. _Times really changed. I never thought this stuff a few years ago. Never thought I was gonna die. _But the choice he'd been presented then changed everything. Making his way along the path winding along the man-made pond, Ryo wondered just whatever possessed him to go to the Digital World that day, so long ago. A glance up at the sky.

The memory of wandering, bleeding and dazed, was still burned into him. He'd wandered, somehow, back to Tokyo, back to where it started for him. _And maybe where it's going to end. Maybe I wasn't ever meant for this._

That was a thought. There were the new "Tamers" (he supposed he could've been categorized as one, once upon a time) after all. Their Digimon were reasonably strong, and, observing them, they weren't showing any signs of going feral on their partners. He would've recognized the indicators. Ryo would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous they got off better than he did. Fishing into his pocket, Ryo pulled out his D-Arc and ran his fingers over the smooth midnight-blue casing. Most of the functions wouldn't work without a partner. He didn't understand why he didn't throw it away. It was just another reminder of the Digital World, he told himself with distaste as he got up to walk.

Why keep the thing? By all rights, it should be easy to chuck it into the nearest trash can and get rid of the thing, and, consequently, the memories it carried.

But…it still meant something to him, even now. Maybe one day he could toss it. But not now.

Maybe not ever.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm going out!" Ruki announced.

Ruki's grandmother came shuffling up behind her in her old slippers as her granddaughter started lacing up her shoes. Ruki was well aware of the older woman's stare, but kept her eyes forward. Finishing her first sneaker, she went to work on the next, eyes on the ground. Something was on her Seiko's mind and she had no urge to find out just what it was. She began pulling her shoulder-length hair into a tight ponytail.

Getting to her feet, Ruki straightened her windbreaker and zipped up. Even as she did this, her grandmother's eyes were on her.

Seiko sighed, her worn face still settled in a perturbed expression. "When are you coming back?" She looked outside. "It's too cold to be going out."

"I'm okay. I'm bringing my jacket, see?"

"You could catch a cold. It's too cold."

Ruki shrugged. Getting sick was really the least of her worries, looking at the big picture and everything. "I'll be _fine_, Grandmother. I'm not going to be out long. I'll be back soon."

Ruki gave a quick wave as she trotted down the dark path, making her way from the lit house toward the gates. They were shut, and she had to struggle to pry it open just enough so she could slip through. Ever since that news report from the other day, her grandmother had become almost paranoid, locking the windows, doors and gates whenever they were alone. Seiko was worried about the mysterious death – Ruki could tell just by watching her grandmother. It bothered Seiko, the idea a person – in perfectly good health – could drop down dead.

The wind from earlier picked up as the Tamer wheeled her bicycle out onto the narrow street. Pausing at an intersection, she rode right, following the sidewalk. It would take at least a while before she reached the meeting place. Her violet eyes, focused ahead of her handlebars, narrowed. Would Takato dare to make an appearance? After last time? _I'd like to see him try__._She wouldn't have any qualms about kicking the living snot out of him. Of course Jenrya would intervene before she got very far. Pacifist.

As for the new guy, Ruki had yet to meet this Ryo kid, so she couldn't pass any judgment. Something about his name seemed familiar...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya found Ryo waiting where he'd promised he would, hands shoved in the pockets of his black overcoat. The taller boy looked up at the sound of Jenrya's footsteps.

"Let's go."

Dry leaves and debris skittered across their feet as they set off toward the park. Jenrya planned to lead the way, but it looked like it wouldn't be necessary. Almost as if in a daze, Ryo picked his way down the emptying streets, face uncharacteristically pale. Terriermon and his Tamer exchanged looks. There was something on the older boy's mind. Jenrya was dying to know what it was. Maybe it would answer the questions he still had. But he kept his mouth shut. Now wasn't the time.

_This whole mess is what I should be thinking about._ He wasn't a leader, he had never made himself out to be one. Frankly, he hated the responsibility. _We gotta think up something. I have to figure out a way to keep Ryo protected from those things. And we have to find Guilmon._

No. He was going about this all wrong. Jenrya had to be calm, efficient about this. Get organized instead of flailing about blindly for a solution.

_Problem One_: Ryo Akiyama.

_What he _did_ know_: Ryo had a D-Arc, but no apparent Digimon. The D-Arc's presence indicated was a Tamer, just like Takato, Ruki and Jenrya, some time earlier. Ryo had also been in the Digital World. Apparently he knew something or had done something to draw the attackers. Besides the D-Arc, Ryo had little to no protection. The attacks would come again. The attacks were intended to either kill or maim; probably kill.

_ What he _didn't_ know_: what Ryo did in the Digital World. How long he was there. What happened there. Who is/was his Digimon and where is s/he now. Just how far Ryo's knowledge went.

_Solution_: None so far. It wasn't a good idea for Terriermon to trail Ryo (he couldn't digivolve unless Jenrya was there). And Ryo himself struck Jenrya as somewhat unstable (the random mood-shifts), chances were he might decide he didn't want to be "stalked" all the time by either Jenrya or Terriermon, even if it was for his own safety. Ryo had to be protected, but just how, he wasn't sure.

_Problem Two_: Takato Matsuda.

_What he _did_ know_: Takato hadn't run away in the middle of the night over a week ago. Takato didn't have his cards or his goggles. He did have his D-Arc and assaulted Ruki to get it. He somehow knew she had it. Takato could be assumed to be hostile (much as Jenrya disagreed with this idea). Takato was still alive and had been prepared for a battle when he had disappeared. There was the chance there was someone/something acting as some kinda fake.

_What he _didn't_ know_: Why Takato disappeared. Where he had gone to then. What he planned to do with his D-Arc. How he knew Greymon was coming (according to Ruki's words). Where he was now. What had happened when Guilmon disappeared. Just what Ryo wanted to talk to him about. Who, if anyone, was parading about in Takato's likeness.

_Solution_: Again, nothing. There was no way of finding Takato – Shinjuku's area was too large to cover. And with Guilmon missing, they wouldn't have even a chance of picking up an old scent, a hint. The only choice was to wait, hope he reappeared again.

_Problem Three_: Unspecified Threat

_What he _did_ know_: Something was going to happen. Something big, according to what Ryo hinted at. Something that could be end-of-Tokyo-big. Probably more wild Digimon would start appearing, in greater numbers, each more powerful than the next. The Tamers, as they were now, were most likely going to be too weak to deal with it. Something would have to change. People would die. Pretty much a given according to Ryo.

_What he _didn't_ know_: What exactly was going to happen. Just how soon. Would it be world-wide? How was Ryo planning to attempt to avert this (assuming he'd come to do so)? Was that option still available?

_ Solution_: Try to find more about it from Ryo. That...was about it.

Put like that, they were off to a stupidly depressing start.

Jenrya stared at Ryo's back. At least he was on their side - that he did know. Riding on his shoulder, Terriermon was quiet. _He's probably thinking_. Jenrya could only imagine what about.

It was weird to think he actually had a _bond _with the Digimon. Jenrya never thought their relationship anything special – well, besides the obvious – but it sounded like whatever linking him and Terriermon was something different than "just" the normal ties of being pals. Was it fate? He chose Terriermon, when he'd first used him in the game. And Terriermon, in a different sense, chose him. Simple as that. Similar things had happened between Renamon and Ruki, Guilmon and Takato.

But not with Ryo. If there'd been a bond, it was gone or...something.

Jenrya quickened his pace, silently overtaking Ryo. Terriermon said nothing, his dark eyes scanning the area. The three crossed an empty boulevard: Jenrya, anticipating the still-shattered street-lamps, had brought a flash-light, and flicked it on. Parts of Shinjuku were already recovered from the power surge, but enough was still in the dark that he came prepared anyway.

Jenrya, now in the lead, slowed his step as they neared Central Park, a slight frown on his face. Something wasn't right. It was really a vague feeling, nothing that screamed of danger. Just…something off. Ryo slowed as well, his face darkening. So the older boy noticed it too. Terriermon tugged lightly on a clump of blue hair.

"I think there was a digital field here recently."

Jenrya nodded. Maybe Ruki was already here; if so, she might've already taken care of it and this was only the residue. Or maybe not. Coming strolling in through the front suddenly didn't seem very smart. Best to come in from the side. Jenrya motioned for Ryo to follow him along the wall. The three moved quickly now. There was a side entrance around here. Passing under a lone street-lamp, he flicked his flashlight off. They were close enough and there was no point in broadcasting their presence any further.

Ryo spoke up, neutral. "Just a suggestion, but once we meet this Ruki, I think it'd be a good idea to find somewhere else to have a group huddle."

Jenrya glanced back at him. In the darkness, he couldn't see the other's face very well, only an outline.

Who knew what might else be appearing around the area? Keeping that word of advice mentally filed, Jenrya continued forward, one hand on the wall. They were approaching a corner of the wall, just around it should be the side gate. The lights over there had been replaced, making it easier for him to see. He went more confidentially now, his gray eyes adjusting. On his head, Terriermon shifted his weight, claws wound lightly in his blue hair to keep his balance. Behind him, Ryo was moving silently.

Terriermon lifted his head, his snout working. The uneasy feeling returned: there was something else out there. It was close, but he couldn't tell what it was, not with the fresh remnants of the digital field wrecking havoc on his senses. Jenrya himself was too distracted to notice, his thoughts only on the meeting ahead. He rounded the corner blindly.

And came face to face with Takato Matsuda.

Wide gray eyes met equally startled blue ones. Terriermon gasped, his claws tugging sharply at Jenrya's hair as he spotted the other Tamer and the hulking forms beyond the boy's shoulders. Behind them, Ryo started to reach instinctively for his D-Arc, his black gaze going right past Takato and locking onto the three Digimon beyond the cone of light. This wasn't good. They were severely outnumbered.

Jenrya stared, at a complete loss of words. Takato_?_

The other boy quickly regained his composure, face darkening with hostility. Behind him, the three Ogremon rumbled threateningly, clubs scraping against the ground, unsure of how to react, Takato glanced at the little group before him. Jenrya took a step forward, half-pleading. Just what in the world was going on? For a brief moment, their eyes met again.

A haughty smile. One that held no recognition at all. Only disdainful arrogance.

Takato suddenly burst into motion, lunging at Jenrya far faster than he would've believed possible for his friend, much less any human being. He was too shocked to move.

"Jenrya!"

**To be continued…**  
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Edit: Pared down the author babble.


	15. Will o'Wisp

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Re-editing to remove some of the more purple prose and redudencies.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similar to telepathy

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
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(Will o'Wisp)

"Jenrya!"

Ryo cursed himself mentally. Why the hell hadn't he seen this coming? Of course there would be some sort of shape-shifter! How else to replace a kid who vanished? It was so obvious, and whoever/whatever this shape-shifter was, he was strong. You had to be to retain that shape for very long.

His shout didn't seem to have any effect on the other boy: Jenrya stood in his path, frozen in shock as the Takato Matsuda-look alike quickly closed the gap between them. Ryo sprinted recklessly forward, watching as the blue eyes lit up. A fist draw back.

Ryo's push sent them tumbling off to the side and, with a deafening crack, Takato's fist slammed violently into the wall where Jenrya's head had been only a seconds before. The stone cracked under the blow and a large portion of the wall tumbled into a pile of rubble. Ryo scrambled to his feet, hauling Jenrya roughly up by his arm. No time for questions.

Ryo definitely didn't like these odds. It was three of them versus this freakishly powerful fake human. Not to mention his buddies.

The Ogremon behind the blue-eyed Takato milled around in dull confusion, at a loss of what to do. Waiting for orders.

One plus. _Good. They're not very independent. Or smart_. Ryo wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he knew he couldn't. All Takato had to do was give the order and things would get even worse. For some reason he didn't. Maybe he was a glory hog.

"Jenrya, that's _not_ Takato!" Ryo snapped. "We've got no time for this! YAttack him! Terriermon has to digivolve! I can't do this on my own!"

"But – " Jenrya started, visibly shaken.

"That's not him!"

It wasn't. It couldn't be. Ryo was right.

"Of course I'm right!" Ryo spat edgily. Jenrya probably wasn't even aware he'd said something. "Look at him!"

Takato, at the moment, had disengaged himself from the wall, shaking a stinging hand. If he had been human, his hand should've been a bloody pulp from hitting the wall with such force. But there was no blood. Only a few rips, like tears in flesh-colored plastic, out of which a few particles of glowing green data slipped into the night air. His blue eyes rose slowly up as he faced Ryo, Jenrya and Terriermon again, a strange smile forming on his face. That smile – that wasn't Takato's smile at all…

Ryo was gratified to see Jenrya getting back with the program. Straightening, Jenrya let Terriermon hop down and pulled out his D-Arc.

Takato crouched low, almost on all fours, a mocking expression twisting his face:

"I'm afraid a mere Rookie isn't going to be of much help!"

Terriermon assumed a defensive stance, beady eyes fierce. Jenrya was behind him and that was all he needed. Takato or no Takato, if Jenrya was okay with it, then so was he! They didn't know if this Digimon, posing as their friend, was a Champion or higher. Not only that, but he had a sinking feeling those Ogremon wouldn't stand there and be content just to watch, not if the battle dragged out. They weren't very intelligent, that was true, but neither were they very big on the idea of patience.

Jenrya began selecting cards. Next to him, Ryo watched, hands in his pockets. There wasn't much he personally could do, except try to coach. No point in running, because they'd just catch him. That, or those freaky wires things would get him the moment he left the (relative) safety of Jenrya and Terriermon's company.

"Just because he looks like Takato doesn't mean he has the same human weaknesses," Ryo said aside to Jenrya. "Don't pull any punches."

The Tamer gritted his teeth. "I'm not planning to."

He had slipped his first card into his D-Arc just as the false Takato charged. Fingers splayed into claws, he slammed down his hand. Terriermon danced out of the way, his reflexes improved. With a grunt, Takato ripped his fingers from the holes they created in the sidewalk and stood upright. Without warning, he abruptly spun about, holding out a hand. There was a dull, rising humming sound as purple beads of light collected into a sparking ball. His hand tilted up sharply from the recoil as he released the energy ball and sent it rocketing at Terriermon.

Terriermon dodged the hissing blow, running along the wall as the bolt blew a large hole into it. Another followed suit. A hail of chips and dust rained down, clinking on the pavement. He leaped off, the bunny-Digimon retaliating with an attack of his own, spinning.

"_Bunny Twister_!"

The young human didn't even appear to feel the blow, turning to face Terriermon as he bounced off and landed on the sidewalk. There was a deafening screech as the boy reached out and, with a single, powerful wrench, tore the iron-gate off from the wall. He hurled the heavy metal at the smaller Digimon. Terriermon managed to scurry away from the large projectile. The gate screeched harmlessly onto the empty street, throwing up sparks.

Takato's eyes narrowed, gleaming blue as he glanced over his shoulder at the Ogremon. They were growing increasingly restless, eager to join alongside their escort. A snapped order and they calmed down, cowed.

"I'm afraid I'm not impressed," Takato turned his attention back to Terriermon, "Much as I would love to play with you further, I haven't the time." He looked past the smaller Digimon, at Jenrya, then at Ryo. A flicker of recognition. "I'll kill you two nuisances and get it over with."

Ryo scowled. So this Digimon masquerading as Takato Matsuda knew about him. Instead of trying to pick him out before Jenrya, the imposter decided it made more sense to get rid of all of them. Great. Just great.

Terriermon wasn't going to stand for it. "Not if I can help it! Jenrya!"

Jenrya started to slash his card. "_Digi-Modify…!_ "

A burst of light to Takato's left, the flare blindingly bright. Takato threw up his arms with an angry snarl, his blue eyes narrowed as the light radiating from Terriermon brightened. So this human's slave was dependent on his master to digivolve? Best to ignore the slave, kill the master first. The slave would be useless without the human holding the power. He lowered his arm and measured this new threat. A Gargomon. Large for its species, but surely nothing to be afraid of. This new group of human children and their slaves couldn't be much stronger than the first group. He could handle this by himself! He wouldn't take the humiliation of letting that Kincaid's pet abomination lurking underneath that big building best him.

Gargomon leveled his barrels with a click as Takato started approaching slowly, his inhuman eyes unblinking. His enemy was in his sights.

Swallowing, Jenrya bowed his head. "Do it."

The Champion opened fire on Takato. The Tamer kept coming, walking right through the crossfire. His shoulder wrenched back as a shot plunged through it and tore open a bloodless gash. His face tilted back slightly as another grazed his cheek. Ribbons of shimmering green data streamed out as Takato began to speed up, his shoes touching lightly on the pavement of the sidewalk. With a sinking feeling, Gargomon realized none of his efforts were going to slow down this monster. But he had to keep trying -

He let out an involuntary squeak as a blue and tan blur – Takato! - suddenly rushed past him. Spinning about on his hind paws, he started to lock onto his opponent; green muscled arms were abruptly grabbing clumsily at him with huge ham-fists. Wriggling frantically out, he ignored the Ogremon behind him and went frantically after Takato. No! The imposter was already practically upon them, his hand now before him and glowing purple. Jenrya was rooted in his spot, gray eyes wide. _Jenrya!_

An explosion erupted at Takato's feet, forcing the energy blast to shoot wide of his intended targets. Gargomon's breath caught in relief as Takato, in open fury, turned to face this new threat.

Kyuubimon bounded toward them, Ruki riding behind her neck. Her Tamer ducked as her multitude of tails rose up, shining with a pale blue fire and howled as she let loose another assault. Caught by surprise, one of the Ogremon fell backward as the first wave of ghostly blow fireballs caught him in the face. Kyuubimon streaked past him, ignoring the data spraying out as he was deleted. Ruki, nearly engulfed in the soft fur of her partner's mane, sat up as Kyuubimon quickly put herself between Takato and Jenrya. The remaining Ogremon retreated, suddenly finding these odds less appealing.

"Why don't you do yourself a favor and crawl back into whatever hole you came from?" Ruki glared murderously.

The fake-Takato tilted his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

Takato didn't even so much as flinch when Kyuubimon bared her fangs at him. This definitely wasn't Takato Matsuda. The green particles of data leaking out from numerous cuts were a dead give-away, while the fact he had nearly blown Jenrya and the stranger with him to high heaven was another clue too. Ryo guessed that was probably Ruki Makino. He already liked her style.

Ruki took her eyes off the fake Takato for a moment. "Gargomon, change of plans. Tunnel. You know where."

Gargomon nodded and started to herd Ryo and Jenrya away. Everyone tensed, for one, unending moment. Takato was poised to attack once more, Kyuubimon bristling.

That was when the lights appeared in the sky.

With a hiss, Takato's blue eyes turned up, his expression one of annoyance. First four, then seven. Others joined them. Turning and dancing amongst each other several thousand feet up, the eerie balls of light twisted through the night sky and headed in a glowing stream overhead. The glittering thread of light wound its way under the stars, heading to some unseen destination. Ryo scowled, wondering just where he had seen this phenomenon before. Whatever they were, they spelled trouble.

Takato glared as if he could wipe the three humans off the face of the earth. He was presented with a choice. Finish the job, and risk losing the rest of the Ogremon. Or complete his task and deal with them later. The Mistress would be displeased if her servant came back empty-handed and his only excuse was he had gotten distracted, side-tracked by targets that weren't even his to deal with in the first place. No, better to finish his task. He had already lost one Ogremon.

Ruki was startled to see Takato suddenly turn on his heel and walk away, disgruntled. Soon he, and the Ogremon tramping after him, were gone, vanishing into the shadows beyond the streetlights.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ruki, this is Ryo Akiyama. Ryo, Ruki Makino."

Ryo and Ruki shook hands with equally guarded expressions. Each was distant, sizing up the other.

Jenrya sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as their hands dropped down and the two turned to look at him. "I think saying this whole thing is out of our league is justified.

"I'd have to agree," Ryo said brusquely.

Ruki shot a stare at him, who steadily ignored it. Terriermon and Renamon remained several yards away from their Tamers. In a hushed voice, the bunny-Digimon filled in Renamon about Ryo and everything that happened. The other Digimon nodded several times, her eyes glancing from time to time at the new human. Ryo shoved his hands in his pockets, slouching against the wall of the tunnel.

"Even if it is out of our league," Ryo paused, but made no attempt to correct "our" to "your", like Jenrya had expected, "the question is, what can be done?"

Jenrya shook his head. "Exactly? What can we do? We don't even know what's going on."

"That's such a bad attitude, Jenrya," Ruki rolled her eyes. "The sky isn't falling yet."

"Hey_, I_ think tonight was actually pretty productive," Ryo said sarcastically. "Aside from nearly getting blasted to kingdom come, I'd say you guys learned a lot." He glanced from Ruki to Jenrya. "We know some Digimon is running around pretending to be Takato. But his job isn't to blend in – I'd say Takato happened to be the first one he came into contact with, so he copied his image first."

Ruki's eyebrows drew together. "So what was he doing out there?"

Ryo shrugged again. "Beats me."

"Those Ogremon." Jenrya mused, thinking back to the harrowing events not long ago. "He was leading them, wasn't he? Like some sort of guard?"

Ruki suddenly snapped her fingers.

"What if more Digimon bio-merge? He might appear again. So long as we don't broadcast our presence, maybe we could follow him. See where he's going. Who knows?" Ruki was determined. "Maybe the real Takato is there."

Jenrya looked at her hopefully. It was definitely a plan, a good one in his opinion, far better than anything he had come up with. Ryo himself nodded after giving it some thought. It _could_ work…maybeit wouldn't save the world, but it was a start. If Takato was back, that meant the odds were lessened against them.

Ruki's plan was agreed on. Jenrya and she would meet later to decide the specifics. That settled, she turned to Ryo.

"Jenrya told me you might have some info about all the weird stuff that's been going on here…I heard you might've even gone to the Digital World."

Ryo went silent for a moment. His voice, when he spoke, was tightly controlled. "I have. It's none of your business. I only came to see if I could do something about the present, not the past." It was obvious he wasn't going to talk about whatever happened in the Digital World.

Jenrya diplomatically cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence.

"I guess the present is the only thing we should be worrying about right now."

Ryo glanced from Jenrya to Ruki, his black gaze apathetic as his lips quirked up in a dry grin. "The only problem is, what answers I have might not make any sense. We need to have the right questions first before I can really be useful. I have my own ideas of what's going on here, but a lot of what I heard were rumors. But with all the action I saw then – and now – I think they're true."

Ryo ran a hand through his hair. Everyone's eyes were on him now. Now that he was here, he wasn't really sure how to go about this. When Ryo clawed his way out of the Digital World, he hadn't exactly been rehearsing his lines – in fact, this moment was the last thing on his mind at the time.

"More Digimon are coming," Ryo said bluntly. "I'm not sure exactly why they're going to invade, but they're definitely coming. I don't know how long it will take them to open the door between our world and theirs. It could be weeks, months. Even a year, but I highly doubt it'll take that long. The thing is, the whole Digital World has been united for this; all the warring factions, gone. All the wars there, gone. There is only a World, governed by some sort of Council." He took a breath and went on. "When the door opens, they will come in full-force. There will be a huge massacre when that happens. Most likely everyone here in Tokyo, in Japan, will die. And that won't even be when the backlash from the interference between the Real and Digital World hits."

There was only a stunned silence.

"I came here to try to do something about it. The Digimon you've seen running around – the Tamer-less ones – are part of it. Even when I was back there they were recruiting, amassing some huge army. It's all some sort of plan that's supposedly been years in the making. Again, I don't know why they're doing this. Frankly, I don't care," Ryo's expression was dark. "I came back to do what I could. You guys have more of a chance than I do at preventing this whole thing."

"And just how big is that chance?" Ruki asked, subdued.

"Not very big. Miniscule, I'd say," Ryo's chuckle bordered on fatalistic. "But mine are nil, so yours are better than nothing."

Jenrya was cradling his head in his hands, completely overwhelmed. An invasion? How could they expect to deal with something like that? Where would they even start, if anywhere at all? Three Tamers…no, two. Takato wasn't even here and neither was his infectious optimism. Two Tamers then, and Ryo, against what seemed like the weight of a whole _world_. This was too much. Jenrya couldn't help but have a difficult time trying to understand just what Ryo was saying – it was almost too ridiculous, too insane to be actually _true_.

"The thing is, they can't do very much until this door is opened," Ryo continued, "There's some sort of 'weak' spot between the two Worlds. Obviously it hasn't been broken yet, otherwise we'd all be dead."

Renamon came up behind her Tamer, clapping a supportive paw on Ruki's shoulder. "What can we do?"

"Prevent the door – the weak spot - from being opened. It won't deteriorate any further, unless something disrupts it. I'm sure that whatever Digimon are here, they're working on doing just that. The thing is, I haven't the slightest clue how they're going to do this. Even though the door is relatively weak, it would still take a huge amount of energy to breach it. It's beyond me how they plan to collect that much, much less focus it at the door."

Terriermon joined them, button nose twitching as he raised a stubby paw. "Where _is _this door?"

" Tokyo is one of the most technologically advanced cities – where there is amassed technology, there is always a door. Tokyo's is the weakest for some reason. Digital pollution, too many people, who knows? I know for certain they won't even bother with the other doors. But the location of the door could be anywhere here, probably out of our reach."

Jenrya made a low, agonized sound at this. Terriermon comfortingly rubbed his partner's shoulder, his round face concerned.

"Besides, I don't think any of you could actually touch the door. It's not tangible. You can't see it, smell it. Sense it, maybe, but that's it. The door – weak spot, tear, bridge, whatever – isn't the issue. In fact, trying to tamper with it might make things even worse," Ryo gestured. "Whatever is collecting the energy. Whatever is going to use it to breach the door. Those would have to be artificial, man-made. And if they're in our World, they can be destroyed."

"So, by destroying those, we prevent the door from being opened," Renamon mused, her alien eyes narrowed in thought. "It's not quite so hopeless."

"But then there's the matter of finding how they're collecting energy. And where. By then, it might be too late. My guess is the process of getting the pathway between the Digital World and Real World fully open isn't gonna be a one-second shot. It might be gradual, maybe take a few hours at worst. The energy they use on the door couldn't be just one quick burst – it would just seal itself up. Doors all over the world do that all the time. It would have to be a steady stream," Ryo said. "But that's my take on it, basing it from what I learned a few years ago. But I think it's pretty damn close to what could happen. What _is _going to happen," he corrected himself with total conviction.

Jenrya sighed and rubbed in exhaustion at his eyes, miserable. Ryo fell silent, the dark shadows under his eyes even more apparent in the red light of the tunnel. Ruki stared at her hands, her fingers twisting nervously.

Jenrya couldn't believe this. _This's impossible_. There was a goal, a definite one, from what Ryo described. But there were two many gaping holes, too many possibilities for error. How could they even hope to accomplish this? Destroying whatever the energy-collecting device was wouldn't be a problem – Renamon and Terriermon could probably handle that – but there was the matter of finding it first. It was in Tokyo, it had to be. But…where? It would be impossible to search all of Shinjuku in time, much less the entire city. The chances were, as Ryo just said, miniscule.

_Just what _can_ we do? _

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Yamaki found sunsets grating.

He wasn't late. Nothing to worry about. For some unexplained reason, he had been checking his watch all night, as if waiting for something to delay him. Tonight was surprisingly stress-free. The repairs went well and he reworked his calculations: it looked like Hypnos would be online a day or so earlier than originally projected. Kincaid had wandered off, taking that sickeningly enthusiastic, bubbly air with her.

Yamaki was astonished to find he was actually in a good mood.

He side-stepped the uniformed workers refitting the bulbs in the storefronts. This part of Shinjuku was almost done and while they had been working around the clock, the damage was still there.

It was a small restaurant, nothing overly fancy. After Reika left his office, he had run over his conversation with her. Reviewing it again, he was startled to realize that what he proposed to her sounded very much like an invitation to a date.

Reika was already there, sitting at one of the low tables in the back. Looking in from the wide front window, it was obvious she hadn't been there very long, her coat draped over the back of a free chair and they hadn't yet started hounding her about coffee. She was looking at something he couldn't see from his angle, her head tilted to the side slightly in an unconsciously graceful gesture. Yamaki suffered a sense of dizzying vertigo. He steadied himself, startled. There was something altogether too familiar about this scene.

Thinking about it further, still watching Reika from outside, Yamaki realized what it was was: he had met Yayoi just like this. Different restaurant, true, but...

_ Good thing I have no intentions of making those mistakes again._

Reika turned as the door gave a musical chime to announce a new arrival. Her boss stepped in, his hair gleaming gold in the overhead lights. He made his way over, winding through the maze of tables, and sitting down across from her. Yamaki made no attempts to remove his ever-present sunglasses: he was silent, waiting.

"Almost thought you were going to be a no show," Reika shrugged, accepting the menu that materialized with the waiter.

"I keep my word," Yamaki said.

Reika laced her fingers together and tilted her head, her lips drawn together. "I already explained how I felt. Did you have enough time to think about it?"

There was the ghost of a smile on Yamaki's lips. His voice was almost wry.

Enough. But more time would've been better.."

"Only there's never enough time," Reika finished quietly.

"Exactly." The conversation bordered on territory Yamaki didn't much care to think about. Accepting the cup of coffee the waiter discreetly offered, he took a sip. "I would personally prefer it if we kept the arrangement, although it's understandable where you come from."

Reika stared, taken aback. Clearly this wasn't what she was expecting.

"That is, if yo –" Yamaki cut himself off, tilting his head at some nearly inaudible sound.

A few seconds passed before Reika's less acute hearing picked up what her boss already noticed. A strange, eerie humming, reverberating across the walls and glass. The pitch rose and then fell, a mixture between the song of a dying animal and what sounded almost like the faintest of human whispers. Standing up, Yamaki cautiously rounded the tables, Reika following. The staff from the restaurant and the few customers began approaching the restaurant front, having just heard the bizarre humming. Yamaki reached it first, with Reika behind him.

What Yamaki saw sucked his breath away.

It was a river of lights.

He had to remind himself to breathe. Yamaki knew he shouldn't be surprised (he had, after all, seen much stranger things), but the fact there was a glowing, thick thread of energy in the night sky wasn't exactly something he expected to see tonight. His eyes narrowed behind his shades. It wasn't a solid stream – the sheer number of individual balls of light and the intensity of their glow only made it look like it was. Somewhere beyond the buildings of the street, more joined the river in the sky.

_ Whatever the hell that thing is, it's going somewhere_. Yamaki didn't like this. He didn't trust it. It just wasn't in his nature to. Behind him, a crowd of cooks, waiters and customers gathered, staring in open shock at the sight. Next to him, Reika stared stonily at the gleaming white river, than at her boss. Waiting. Knowing that look on his face.

"Let's go. I want to see where this damned thing goes."

Reika nodded and, gathering her coat, followed Yamaki outside the restaurant. Whatever he was about to say earlier could wait.

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The Juggernaut switched monitors, flipping through hundreds of thousands of individual units in a matter of milliseconds. Nothing of much importance. Impressive the Creator managed to call in so many Golems in – the humans were too startled to panic just yet. A few might escape, but the Juggernaut could eliminate them if there were any signs they would try to warn the rest of the world. Dispose of the bodies if necessary, but it calculated it wouldn't be the time thousands at a time tried to flee, it wouldn't matter. The Shield would be in place. And that would be that.

As the Juggernaut continued to upload the now-steady flow of data (_souls?_), the merged computer began to undergo a minor internal change. It was to be expected, of course. In order for it to function even more efficiently, the human's "Will" had to be coaxed from the rest of its general makeup. It had been dormant since the merge, slowly repairing itself as the huge machine went through its tasks.

_…?_

The Juggernaut, noticing two of the harbor guards wandering closer to the Shield, took action. Thick, pulsing cables burst loose from the walls. They quickly wrapped around the surprised humans, forced them mercilessly into the dark waters. Their struggles were weak and they soon expired from lack of oxygen. That seen to, the Juggernaut went back to monitoring the area, apathetic.

The groggy Will was more insistent this time.

_ ….?!_

Another Golem went into the pool and dissolved. More energy stored. Routine. **Your purpose will come soon. **

_What are we waiting for? _

Inside the Juggernaut, the small boy's frail body remained motionless.

** When the time is right. When there is enough to complete our task. **

The Will was bewildered and for a moment, it instinctively sought to resurface and remove the parts of the Juggernaut impeded in Takato's (_his_) being. It/he was easily pushed back. **No. Unity. We are one – the only reason you are permitted to function with relative independence is because of the purpose you must serve. Faulty programs that fail to obey this purpose will be expelled.**

_ I don't understand._ Although Takato Matsuda himself was unaware of anything around him, of any interchange, the tiny conscious part – his Will – was suddenly terrified, and quaked at the mild threat. _Don't expel. Don't expel._

** Cooperate and expulsion will not be necessary. **

A pause. And then meek submission.

The Juggernaut continued with its tasks. One part of it scanned the human boy. Perfectly healthy, as was to be expected. So the only part of the human capable of any independent thought (if it could be called that) was Takato Matsuda's Will. It/he could be pointed in the correct direction. Since the Creator recently gave new data to the supercomputer, it knew what would have to be done now. See to it that enough time was bought so Zudomon could set up his forge and create the Shield. After that, it was very probable the Juggernaut would take on the duties of the Sword. And that was where Takato Matsuda's Will came in.

Guilmon. _You want Guilmon?_

**Yes. I have need of him. There are certain limits to my physical power. **

_ You're…not going to hurt him, are you? _Jenrya wouldn't, surely.

**We each have our duties. I will follow my programming. And so will you. Questions serve no purpose. **

The Juggernaut deleted another Golem and absorbed it, swelling with the sparks of energy spreading in the glowing pool. It almost made the two light-headed with the new surge of power. Another life, gone. Another soul, another human being. Gone. Memories of a grandson, a huge fight with a spouse, a funeral. And then nothing more.

It was…saddening. Almost. The Juggernaut itself was incapable of true emotions – it could emulate them if it felt a reason to – but there was a strange sensation that was slightly upsetting to the core of the machine. Probably an aftereffect of the merge between the original Juggernaut and Takato Matsuda. By bonding, and eventually coming together into one, they had, in an inaccurate way of speaking, blurred together and overlapped. Which would explain the alien sensation the Juggernaut supposed could be an "emotion".

The inorganic part of the Juggernaut wasn't concerned. It could still easily override the inferior part if it became necessarily. Although it meant certain options could not be used – Takato's Digimon, for example – it could still accomplish the given tasks. But it would be less efficient. It wouldn't be difficult to control the inferior's Will. Directed at the Digivice sitting on an unresponsive lap, the Will could be focused.

And then Takato Matsuda's Digimon would evolve into a better weapon, another tool for the Juggernaut to use.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo returned home as fast as possible.

_ I did what I could._ He told himself as he headed toward the apartment complex, picking his way through the darkness. In this part of the city, they hadn't gotten to fixing the lights yet. Ryo was positive he had seen them before. The eerie humming was way too familiar. Glancing over his shoulder, back the way he came, he could still see the glow from the stream, fainter now than before. Whatever those balls of light were, they were beginning to decrease in numbers. For now.

Why the hell couldn't he remember? Shaking his head, Ryo let himself into the apartment, shoving the quietly jingling keys into his pocket as he mounted the stairs. Feeling blindly for the banister, he made his way up to the second floor.

You couldn't help but feel almost sorry for the poor kids. Caught up in something that just was too big. Jenrya, Ruki, their missing friend. Despite the differences, they were still kids. Ryo knew _he_ wasn't. He was no longer an innocent, he was no longer a ki, despite whatever physical age he might appear to be. _All those years in the Digital World…and only one passed here_. It felt like he'd been somehow cheated by time. It wasn't fair. But then again, when were things ever fair?

Sometimes Ryo was convinced those last five years were a dream: a long, never-ending nightmare. But one only had to look at his scars to see it had been all too real. He lost his childhood because he made one stupid, impulsive choice. And, looking at Jenrya, at Ruki, at the children at school, he regretted it now more than ever.

Still contemplating this, Ryo reached the second floor of the apartment complex. Looked like the emergency lights were, the dim weak glow visible across the hall. He took a few steps, and paused. Silent. Normally you could hear people doing their laundry, cooking dinner, watching TV or just listening to music. But now ther was nothing. Only a low humming…

Crap.

Cold realization broke over him. Those weren't emergency lights – those things from outside were in here! Ryo's first reaction was to turn on his heel and leave the building. The deathly silence wasn't a good sign and he didn't relish sticking around and finding out how close the source of the humming was. A sudden thought made him pause. Tamayo. She would've gotten back from work and been home by now. Without thinking, Ryo sprinted down the hall, barely stopping as he rounded a corner, skidded slightly, and raced toward their apartment.

The door was ajar.

The humming approached from his left. They were definitely heading for _something_. Ryo entered the living room and took it in quickly. Some of the furniture was overturned in the living room, as if someone went scrambling over them. A package of strawberries lay on the counter, spilling out into the juice that had splattered everywhere when a glass pitcher was suddenly dropped. Faintly, he could make out the dark droplets of what looked like blood, leading away from the small kitchen. He threw caution to the wind:

"Tamayo!" Ryo headed down the hall and glanced in his room, then in Tamayo's abandoned one. "_Tamayo_!"

He tilted his head and listened, unfamiliar worry taking root. Was she even here still? Someone _had_ been here. The blood was proof of that. Concern for himself had somehow vanished, now replaced with a growing nausea. Following the drops of black on the carpet and stepping over the shattered glass from a fallen picture frame, Ryo bit his lip. What if – no. She wasn't dead.

He was about to call again when he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. Ryo paused, straining. There it was again, a muffled sound from the bathroom. _Crying?_ Pressing his ear to the door, he listened. Yeah, someone was crying. He tested the doorknob. It rattled: locked. The crying stopped.

"Tamayo, is that you?"

He nearly sat down in relief as her voice neared the bathroom door. "Ryo?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?" Ryo asked. The humming wasn't coming any closer, but it wasn't going away either.

"Y-yeah," the woman on the other side sniffled. There was a click as she shakily undid the bolt. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," he said as he pushed open the door. Peering into the darkness of the bathroom, he could make out the shape of Tamayo huddled near the sink. She got to her feet at the sight of him, swaying on weak legs and almost tumbling to the floor as she approached him, her eyes wide as she checked her charge over. Once she confirmed Ryo was in one piece, she leaned heavily against the tiled counter and wiped at her red eyes.

Ryo watched her for a moment. Her dark green hair had worked its way out of their customary braids, now loose in clumps. Involuntary tears ran down her cheeks, blurring the little makeup she normally wore. Other than that, she didn't look hurt, just scared out of her mind. _She's seen these things_. That was obvious.

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm frayed nerves without much success, Tamayo ran a hand through her tangled green hair. At first Ryo didn't say anything and several agonizing seconds passed before he finally spoke up.

"What happened?"

Tamayo sighed, drained. "I-I don't really know. These…"

"What?" Ryo asked.

"I don't _know_ what!" Tamayo snapped and then instantly apologized, her face flushing. "I…I'm sorry. It's just…I don't know what they were. They were like…ghosts."

Ghosts. What did he know of that acted like ghosts? As far as he knew, there wasn't any such thing in either the Real World or the Digital World. But…there were those that could put on the appearances of one. In fact…no, it was still just out of his grasp. He was about to ask his guardian to describe the "ghosts" in more detail when he suddenly noticed her eyes were no longer on him.

The young woman, frozen, stared past him, her eyes wide. Ryo whipped around.

The metal forehead of a white horse poked through the locked door, looking like a freaky mounted trophy. Red armor covering the creature's eyes turned slowly, taking in the room. Ryo tensed as the Unimon's head lifted through the door, taking a soundless step forward through the wood. Tamayo pressed herself against the counter, instinctively scrabbling up onto it, her voice catching in her throat as Ryo instinctively moved to place himself between the Unimon and his guardian.

Ryo thought quickly, his mind racing: what did he know about Unimon? Enough to know he stood no chance up against one. But they shouldn't be able to go through solids like that. It took a step, lifting its head as pulled itself further. He had no weapons. His D-Arc was still recharging. Screwed was one way of putting it.

The Unimon started to take another step forward, standing at its full height. Behind Ryo, Tamayo made a horrified squeak of terror – something swung on its hinges and there was a flash as the bathroom light reflected off something. The Unimon froze as the light from behind Ryo flashed over it.

Without so much as a sound, the Unimon burst into data particles.

Ryo stared. Just what the hell happened? Cautiously, he watched the data particles fade away – whatever the Unimon was, it hadn't been a real Digimon. Real ones had more data in them than that, didn't vanish just like that. Satisfied that the Unimon was dead/deleted/gone, the brunette turned to see just what had caused the flash, silently thanking whatever luck he still had.

Tamayo, in her panic, had bumped into the medicine cabinet's mirror. The Unimon stared the reflected light right in the face before it dissolved away.

Ryo was beginning to realize what they were up against. Digimon-that-weren't. They only appeared like real Digimon, but they were shells. Mindless drones. He remembered seeing them in the Digital World. As far as he knew, the drones (no, the official term was "Golems", he remembered now being told that with a rumble of disdain), had little defenses. Any Digimon could take care of them. And somehow they were affected by anything magnetic – but that was in the Digital World.

_ I don't really care _what_ the differences are between this and the Digital World._ Ryo bit his lip, thinking quickly. So it was basically anything magnetic then. But they were around that sort of stuff here and there was no affect. From the reaction from the Unimon-Golem, mirrors had about the same effect. And that was really all he needed to know. The technical stuff didn't matter.

He managed to calm Tamayo down in the meantime, taking her hand and helping her off the counter. She wobbled, but stayed standing.

"We're gonna get out of here," he started, listening. The humming grew closer, louder than ever. He didn't have much time. "We'll try to get out through the fire escape. Understand?"

Tamayo nodded shakily. She still held his hand in a death-grip.

"Okay. Do you have any mirrors I can carry? Something hand-held?"

She directed him to one of the drawers near the sink – rooting through it, he located a small compact and a larger frameless one, still covered with a fine layer of dust. Apparently Tamayo intended to have it framed and mounted, but never got to it. Careful to avoid slicing his fingers on it, he opened the compact and handed to her, hoping his theory was correct and this would work. If not, if somehow he was wrong…well, he guessed they were as good as dead.

Taking her free hand, he rushed out of the bathroom with Tamayo in tow. The fire escape was out in the hall, beyond their apartment, only meters away from their end of the complex. It wasn't far. Moving about in the darkness of the living room, he made his way cautiously into the kitchen The humming was close, much closer than before; it was difficult to pinpoint a location because it sounded like it was closing in from all sides. All the more reason to hurry.

They crossed the kitchen floor. Ryo reached for the door -

Just as the ghostly head of another Golem appeared.

The gray, flat face passed right through his fist. For a second, he felt like he plunged his hand in a vat of liquid nitrogen. It went painfully numb at the contact and he jerked away from the door, trying to shake some life back into his fingers. Tamayo clutched onto his other hand, biting down an instinctive scream at the sight of the heavily furred Gorillamon-Golem.

Behind him, Tamayo stumbled, but regained her balance as Ryo backed the two of them away. Another Golem joined the large face of the Gorillamon. Ryo glanced sharply about as he caught movement from the corners of his eyes – they were surrounded as dozens of other species began to come in through the walls.

_ Shit_. Surrounded like this, he couldn't hope for the mirrors to take care of all of them - if what that one, quick touch had done to his hand was any indicator, they couldn't risk something as stupid as trying to charge past them. The two humans were forced to back across the living room as the Golems closed in, the window behind them.

Ryo thought quickly. Glancing behind him, he could see the window. Their apartment was on the second floor _So long as we don't land on our heads, we'll survive._ One of the Golems darted forward, the claws of the Betamon scrabbling for Tamayo; Ryo jerked her roughly away, fingers so tight around her they were white. The half-circle of the Golems throbbed, the creatures swarming.

His dead arm still hanging uselessly at his side – feeling was just starting to return to it – Ryo grabbed the heaviest object he saw. The metal paperweight smashed through the window pane. Glass sparkled out into the night sky. The paperweight hadn't been heavy enough to break the entire window – it had been weakened, but the hole was only a foot or so across. Good enough. Tamayo barely had enough time to make a surprised noise as he charged recklessly at the window, pulling her with him.

There was a brief second of sharp pain as he felt the window give way against his body. Glass shards exploded everywhere, small pieces cutting at his skin. Shimmering powder sprayed after him. For a long moment, he felt the sickening weightlessness of free-fall as he and Tamayo plummeted toward the patch of thick grass below. Suddenly it was close – too close – and with a dull thud, he hit the ground hard, and rolled, winded. Stars swirled. Disoriented, he was astonished to find, aside from a few cuts and bruises, he was okay.

A small voice wondered how this was possible. He ignored it.

Ryo staggered to his feet, blood sliding down his cheek from a cut above his eyebrow. A few feet away, Tamayo sprawled awkwardly, staring forward in a daze. Her face was starting to twist in pain despite her shock – approaching his guardian, Ryo could see her leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Unlike Ryo, Tamayo hadn't been so lucky.

Glancing up, he knew the Golems wouldn't wait there forever. Eventually they would have to realize the humans ran away. There wasn't much time. Turning back to Tamayo, he quickly checked her leg. Definitely broken. Ryo managed to loop one of Tamayo's limp arms over his shoulder, staggering under her heavier weight. Gritting his teeth, he glanced up again.

None of the Golems were drifting down yet to investigate. He wasn't going to wait around until they finally got it through their brains. There was no time to waste – shifting under Tamayo, Ryo set off as fast as he could.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yamaki followed the river of lights, driving haphazardly through the half-lit streets. Reika, sitting in the passenger, glanced over at her boss: Yamaki's face was set. She knew that look – it was always the same on every hunt. Whatever he tried to say back in the restaurant was forgotten. There was really no question of what was more important, after all.

The river of light in the night sky had been steadily dimming, which meant if Yamaki didn't punch it into gear, he'd risk losing it. This had to be linked to all the bizarre activity earlier. If it was, it meant Yamaki might finally make some headway. He wasn't going lose that chance. Through the dark lens of his sunglasses, the he tracked the collection of strange lights. They were definitely heading somewhere. Deeper into the city.

In a direction that was far too familiar.

He could see the familiar double towers of Hypnos's headquarters, jutting up into the night sky and standing in stark contrast to the glowing ribbon circling about the two towers. The humming was still audible, despite the fact the light ascended thousands of feet into the air, a shimmering thread instead of the river from before. They were disappearing into the sky-scraper, spiraling down in gleaming ribbons.

There was something in there.

Something going on behind his back. _Someone_ was underming him – there was no possible way that something like this could've escaped his notice any other way. He'd personally see to flushing out the rat, and finding whatever drew the lights. Whatever it was, it was better off destroyed.

He slammed on the brakes as he rounded the corner. A roadblock was set-up, the flames from the dozens of sputtering red flares reflecting off the makeshift barrier of black vans blocking the street. Pulling to a stop, Yamaki got out of his car. These vans didn't belong to him: they had no markings at all. No insignias, no license plates, blackened windows. A few armored figures strolled about the blockade and he caught the glimpse of weapons, of semi-automatics. They meant business.

_ Who _are_ these people?_

Leaving the car, Yamaki strode toward the blockade, Reika following. One of the helmeted soldiers, speaking to someone, turned at his approach. Behind his shades, Yamaki's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the man the soldier had been talking to. The same deceivingly harmless expression, the same black suit. The same face he instinctively despised without really knowing why. Ataru Nagamora. Yamaki marched up to Nagamora.

"What the hell is this?" Yamaki hissed.

Nagamora waved the soldier away. "Precautions. I've had the area quarantined off."

"Why didn't I have a say in this?"

The other man, unfazed at the venom in Yamaki's words, began to clean his glasses.

"This's my jurisdiction, Nagamora!"

"You forget Ialso have an interest in this," Nagamora said calmly, replacing his glasses. "We don't know for sure what this phenomenon is, which is why I want my people on this as insurance. Unless there is a direct connection to your field, I don't want your manpower wasted on it."

That answer wasn't good enough. Too many holes, too much left unexplained. Reika glanced at her boss and bit her lip. He looked ready to explode, hands clenched together into fists. He wasn't the type to be satisfied by that answer. Reika watched the growing argument with quiet interest, eyeing the other man. She heard of Nagamora, but she rarely saw him, much less this close. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose, almost instinctively.

"My manpower doesn't matter. That," Yamaki stabbed a finger angrily at the twin towers, at the thread of light starting to dwindle, "is under _my_ personal care! If there is anything out of the ordinary involved with _that_ building, I have every right to investigate it with my own personnel."

Nagamora only shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take that chance. I'm afraid I can't permit you to enter until my men have finished their search."

Yamaki seethed. Was his control that meaningless? He managed to prevent himself from doing anything drastic, closing his eyes behind his shades and counting to five. This was ridiculous, beyond insane! If somehow Hypnos (or anything else in there) had something to do with the river of lights, he had every right to know, to conduct his own investigation. _How can I be barred from my own goddamn headquarters?_ He was the leader of Hypnos! This couldn't be happening.

But it was. And he was starting to get suspicious…

Nagamora was still talking, but he only listened with half an ear, watching as the light faded and altogether vanished into the enormous building. The sky returned to normal.

" – final inspection. If everything passes, then we'll remove the quarantine."

Yamaki's voice was low, a dangerous growl. He was starting to get sick of these stupid little games.

"It better be removed. Because Hypnos _must_ function and it can't without access to the equipment. Without us, those damned creatures will overwhelm this city," Yamaki said. "We can't afford any more of these delays."

Nagamora turned and shouted orders to a squad of the armed soldiers. When he turned back to Yamaki, his expression was unreadable. He adjusted his glasses, mouth a thin line as he regarded the younger man. It didn't look like Yamaki would be willing to bend over this time – he was set to continue regardless of what Nagamora advised him. Which wasn't a good idea, since it halved Yamaki's usefulness. A shame, really. Especially since he surpassed Nagamora's initial expectations ever since he'd introduced himself officially to Yamaki all those years ago at the hospital. Oh well.

"I'm sorry," Nagamora repeated. He had one last chance to reconsider before Nagamora would take action against him. "But this isn't intentional, if that's what you're getting at. I would advise against conflicting with the quarantine."

One last chance before Yamaki would wear out his usefulness.

"What I'm getting at is I want to find out personally what happened, not get force-fed a report after the fact," Yamaki glowered. "If you actually start using those weapons on my people, I'll have your operation blown."

The two men fell silent, sizing each other up. Yamaki did have that power – he could find resources somewhere else because like it or not, he did have some _other_ friends in high places, and he had dug up enough facts that could have officials scrabbling. Very well. By this time, they could run things well enough without Yamaki at the helm. It was only a matter to seeing him removed. Now was not the time, obviously. Too many witnesses. But it would have to be soon. A mental note to see that Yamaki would be dealt with, preferably within the week. Nagamora's expression didn't change.

"I assure you, that won't be necessary."

Yamaki stared at Nagamora for a long moment. His expression remained unreadable. Giving the vans and the soldiers a disgusted look, Yamaki turned on his heel and stalked away, Reika glancing over her shoulder.

Nagamora was still watching them even as they left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tamayo wasn't getting any lighter.

Grunting, Ryo shifted his grip. Tamayo stumbled, moving in a daze and nearly sent the two of them sprawling to the sidewalk. Her face had paled considerably since their flight from the apartment – he'd been in such a hurry to get away he hadn't seen to her broken leg. _You can survive a broken leg_, Ryo's face, set, didn't betray any of his thoughts. Feeling finally returned to the hand that touched the Golem earlier. He didn't even want to think what might've happened back there. Half dragging, half-carrying his guardian, he looked around for anyone who could help him.

At this time, there was no one. Glancing over his shoulder, Ryo could see the faint glow from their apartment. The creatures were still there. Going back wasn't an option. But staying out here in the open, broadcasting their presence, wasn't either. If it wasn't the Golems, it could be that thing that tried to kill him earlier.

There was one last option.

_ I didn't want to get her involved in this…_

He had no choice though.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya couldn't concentrate. Lying on the length of the couch, his arms crossed behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling. _This is too big for us. _How could they expect to "save the world"? Just like something about of a bad movie, a bad book. It wasn't possible. Too big. Too impossible.

_But why would Ryo try to warn us if it was hopeless?_

Exactly.

He'd tried watching TV, reading a book, doing his homework even. But Ryo's words kept coming back. Thinking back to what he said, Jenrya found he couldn't concentrate on doing math when those words echoed. The solutions to the equations slipped through like it didn't matter. Meaningless. Staring blankly at the sheet of homework, Jenrya felt his teeth grinding together. This just didn't feel important. Not when it felt like…like days were numbered. Like time was limited. Looking at it that way, solving equations suddenly seemed a waste of time.

Jenrya turned on the couch and sat up, elbows resting on his knees.

_ But what could we possibly do?_

Not much. What Ryo described sounded inevitable.

A series of sharp knocks startled him back to the present. Jenrya looked up sharply. A visitor? _Now?_ He pushed away from the couch and shuffled toward the door. It was late, past midnight. His parents were gone – his father had been called to work (he'd left grumbling about over-time) and his mother was off to visit her sister for the next couple of days. Which basically left Jenrya to himself. As far as he knew, no one was supposed to be over. Warily he approached the door and slowly opened it.

And stumbled backward in surprise.

"Help me!"

Jenrya could only stare, gaping. Ryo stood there, looking haggard and the worse for wear, clumps of grass blades clinging to his spiked hair and a streak of blood trickling his cheek. But that wasn't what made Jenrya freeze. It was what Ryo was doing: the taller boy was struggling under the weight of a woman in her twenties. Ryo staggered under her, starting to sink under the dead weight. He repeated himself sharply before Jenrya shook off his surprise and hurried over.

Between the two of them, they managed to get the woman into the living room and onto the couch. Ryo made sure she was as comfortable as possible. Listening to the ragged breaths, Jenrya frowned. Whoever she was, she looked like she was in bad shape, covered in grass, dark tracks from mascara running down her flushed face. He didn't even see the strange angle of her leg until Ryo knelt down and began looking at it. Jenrya looked away, feeling sick at the sight of the unnatural bulge. Ryo got up, wiping the drying blood from a cut on his forehead.

"I need to get her to a hospital. At least do something about the leg."

Jenrya looked up at the other boy, who was rubbing absently at his bleeding cut.

"Ryo, what's going on?"

"We were attacked," he said, his hand coming away with blood flakes. "By Golems. Explain to you about them later since you probably haven't encountered them yet. And we look like utter crap because we jumped out a two-story window. She broke her leg on the way down."

Jenrya gaped at him. Jumped out….a two-story window? That was something out of movies, manga! But Ryo's expression was dead serious. He wasn't kidding. Ryo hadn't exactly much in the way with humor, unless it was the morbid sort and Jenrya knew he hadn't changed at. But still. A jump like _that_. Crazy. But it did explain the broken leg. It, however, didn't explain how Ryo came out looking better than her.

Jenrya said as much, looking worriedly over at the strange woman. To put it in Ryo's words, she definitely looked like crap.

"I don't know. Luck, I guess," Ryo shrugged. He'd practically landed on his head, now that he pieced together the fall. It didn't really make that much sense now that he thought about it. "Maybe I'm just hard to kill."

"Who's she?"

"Tamayo. My assigned…guardian, I guess."

Jenrya rubbed at his temples. He didn't know the first thing about first aid. Personally, he wouldn't trust himself to touch that leg. "We've got to get her to a hospital. Her leg –"

" -Broken."

" – I _know_. I've got eyes," Jenrya spat out before he was aware he'd said anything. His exhaustion and worry really weren't mixing well. "My mom's out for a few days. But I think my dad's coming back in the morning. He could drive us."

"That's assuming the nearest hospital recovered from that blackout."

_Do you have to be so pessimistic?_ "If they aren't, then we can't do anything."

Ryo walked over to the kitchen as he spoke. He stopped at the sink and turned the faucet, running his hand through the icy water. Splashing his face and cleaning the scrapes and cuts, he wet his whole head before helping himself to one of the clean towels on a nearby rack. Jenrya said nothing in protest and stepped back as he touched the moist towel to Tamayo's pale forehead. It didn't do anything to help her leg, but it apparently made Ryo feel like he was doing something.

Ryo sat down heavily on another chair, peering through wet bangs at his hands. "God."

Jenrya pulled up a chair, glancing first at Ryo's companion. She had somehow fallen asleep, dozing uncomfortably.

"I seriously didn't think they'd be that desperate to bring _them_ into this."

Jenrya frowned. "Who's 'them'?"

"The Golems. They're like rejects from the freak-farm. The menial laborers of the Digital World. They're virtually harmless to any Digimon. Too stupid to revolt against their masters. And far too weak to be of any threat," Ryo snorted. He smoothed back his wet hair. Rubbed at his face. "You could sneeze on them and they just puff out. Like that. _Poof_."

Jenrya hadn't known any of this. Terriermon never told him. Never told him that even in the Digital World, there were forms of enslavement. This didn't seem to bother Ryo – he saw this as a fact, nothing of moral importance. It bothered Jenrya. How could someone become so desensitized? His mouth pursed.

Ryo continued. "In the Digital World, they weren't much of a problem. I was the only human, as far as I knew. I never got attacked by a Golem, although I was taught how to defend myself against one," he skirted the topic of the Digital World. "But they can be dangerous. I got tagged by one for a second and my arm just went dead on me. Like it'd been sucked dry."

"I thought you said they weren't dangerous."

"They aren't if you've got a defense. And I don't anymore. There were too many and I blew the charge on my D-Arc. We had to run. It was a good thing they're too stupid to follow us."

Jenrya asked Ryo to describe them, what happened before. Ryo kept it brief and to the point, detailing the lights, Tamayo, the jump from her apartment and breaking her leg. Yeah, it sucked she got hurt, Ryo said, but the fact was, better to injured than dead. And that was what would've happened if they stayed. Beat being sucked dry like a damn sponge.

"They're going all out if they bother to send Golems over. They're not keeping much of a low profile anymore – not with the big pretty light show in the sky," Ryo commented dryly. "Means they don't care as much as before. Probably closer to their goal."

"Don't remind me," Jenrya groaned.

"Yeah, it blows."

A silence as the two boys avoided each other's eyes.

"I still don't get what they're doing fooling around with Golems," Ryo went on. "They can't do anything so they're useless. Human weapons could easily knock them out. I don't get why they're bothering with them."

Jenrya turned this new concept over. So Golems were basically a lower form of life than Digimon? Nope, Ryo said. Not even that close. As far as he knew, they only looked like Digimon. That was where the similarities ended. Just data. No intelligence. No personality. No will. The perfect slaves.

"Maybe they have some use I don't know about. I never really bothered with them before."

Ryo covered the beginnings of a contagious yawn. Jenrya fought his own down. One of them would have to be awake in case the "Golems" came back (Ryo highly doubted it) or if whatever attacked Ryo a few days ago showed up. With a silent sigh, Jenrya steeled himself for an all-nighter. He'd be the one to do it. There weren't any free rooms beside his own. He started to offer but Ryo shook his head, tired.

"I'd rather stay right here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Easier to watch Tamayo."

Jenrya made himself useful, glad for a distractino. Retrieving an extra blanket and pillow from the hall closet, he offered them to Ryo. He accepted them and stretched out on the loveseat he'd been sitting near, lanky legs hanging over the side. He visibly relaxed, the adrenaline from earlier flooding away. He dozed off uneasily within a few minutes of lying down.

Jenrya settled down in the opposite chair. It was going to be a long night.

**To be continued…**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	16. Dreamer

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: This is an AU of Digimon Tamers. It will be merging with some of the other canons.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects (full text in this is for subconscious stuff, mostly just for Juggernaut/Will stuff)  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similiar to telepathy

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Dreamer]

The Will was… "dreaming".

_ There was a time when things had been different. He couldn't place when. "When" didn't exist – it was fiction, a fantasy. It meant nothing, but it was still alluring, glittering at the edges of whatever remained of a fragmented memory. Reality had long since blurred at the edges and he honestly couldn't say where he ended and the "other" began._

The "other" was a strange, alien being that somehow reminded Takato of himself. And, of course, of Jenrya. Because that was the "other's" true form. But there was a little bit of himself, a strange bit that wasn't fractured, wasn't imperfect. He was an outsider to this perfect "other", this strange blend of Jenrya and Takato. The "other" knew of this little hiding spot, where the last remnants of Takato's personality resided. He knew and let Takato stay. Out of pity? Maybe. It wasn't up to Takato to judge Jenrya, to presume to second-guess him. 

_ There was a little bit of himself still left, somehow, untouched by Jenrya. Broken still, yes, but still pure_

_ Within this, he had had managed to create the little hide-away. Just a white room with no visible exits. Takato sat in the center of the floor, hugging his thin knees to his chest. The longer he was here, the more solid he seemed to become. Like the broken parts trying to reform, trying to find his center once more and not quite succeeding. His dull red eyes stared blankly at a spotless wall. _

_ Jenrya, the "other", came and went. Takato could feel his lifeless gray eyes on him every time he came. Walls didn't stop him. Usually Jenrya would stare for a few moments, and, satisfied with something, then leave. _

_ Jenrya had frightened him. He hadn't surely meant it though, when Jenrya had told him that he could leave him behind, "expel" him. The image of himself fully alone, without the "other" wandering in and out, was unbearable. Takato wanted to be held, be comforted like last time, when Jenrya had talked to him and asked him questions. But "last time" seemed so far away too, although it had to have been recent. No clock, no time. No sense of the passing of the days and the nights. He was immune to time like Jenrya, but he hadn't known it would be like this, so lonely…Takato might be broken still, but that didn't mean he was unable to understand loneliness._

_ It was then that he became aware of the fact that he wasn't alone. Jenrya was back._

_ Takato was afraid. There was the fear that if he dared to speak up, he would be left behind, left completely alone._

But instead of leaving, like usual, Jenrya walked over and rested a cold hand on his shoulder. Takato jumped, shoulder tensing in fear. Was he here to tell him he had to go? To lock the invisible doors against him?

** No. You still have a use. As long as a program has a use and its functions outweigh its weaknesses, there is no point in expelling it. **  
_  
Takato turned his pale face away, feeling eyes burning with tears that would never fall. So harsh. Jenrya surely didn't mean to be so harsh to him, not like that. Said like that, there was the overhanging, unspoken threat that if he were to fall behind, to do less of what the "other" asked, Jenrya would abandon him, like so many others._

Jenrya's dead eyes, fixed on the brunette's huddled form, softened slightly. **I only ask for your cooperation. The rest of you has merged with me. We are together except for…this.** _He flicked a glance at the barren room. _**The human Will…different.**

_ I am? I am different? It was his fault that he still had this tiny measure of awareness even now?_

**It cannot be helped. **_Jenrya's lips never moved. _**You were human. That is the fault of nature. Nature made you into an inferior being, not you yourself. It is…**

_ Fate?_

** There is no such thing as fate. **

_ Then what is it?_

**This is reality.**

_ And it was. Takato believed what Jenrya told him, despite his initial fears. Takato wanted desperately to please his friend, his friend who now carried many porcelain shards of himself like so many decorations. Jenrya's gray eyes were more blank than before, the eye-whites starting to turn black. Jenrya was Jenrya, but his eyes were somewhat frightening at the same time. Light gray stood out against a growing shade of black, the eyes becoming inhuman. Jenrya was changing. Evolving._

**It is reality that we are one. It is fact that we have our own individual duties. Fate is simply a convenient human word to place responsibility on some vague abstraction. **

_ Takato was silent, feeling ashamed nonetheless. He wasn't like Jenrya. _

**There is nothing in this world like me. I am one of a kind. A higher function that nothing else can match. Again, it cannot be helped**_. _

_ Still…_

**We must continue with our duties. I have a function, as do you. **

_ Oh yes. Jenrya's function was to eat, to keep eating the energy from the souls that streamed in each night. It…was discomforting to think that…people died for that, people he didn't even know were snuffed out like simple flickering candles. The sparks of their lives were robbed from them and delivered to Jenrya, who waited. Yet Takato did not complain, because whenever Jenrya ate, there was a sense of fulfillment that made him feel like before, like that time "when" things had been different. He…liked it. Takato liked it a lot. It felt good and he reasoned that if it felt that good, it couldn't be bad. _

** Exactly. It satisfies both of us. Humans die regardless. With this method, their deaths are not useless. **

_ Jenrya always made such sense. Such cold, logical sense._

**You enjoy it. It is a side effect I did not predict, but it is of a positive nature. **  
_  
Yes, Takato breathed._

**Then more you shall have, as will I.**_ The barest of smiles passed across Jenrya's tanned face. _**But there are those out there who can be threats if left unchecked. They do not want us to do what we do. They want us to fail: for me to starve, for you to be unhappy. If it were in their power, they would seek to destroy me…and kill you as well.**

_ Open fear rang through Takato's frame, followed by a strong desire to protect Jenrya from these…enemies._  
**  
We can try to exterminate them on our own, with the resources of the city. But your Digimon would be far more effective. **  
_  
Guilmon? A long pause. _

**There are a limited number of options available to us. Our failure to dispose of the primary target has shown us that. Ryo Akiyama still lives because of these enemies.**  
_  
Ryo Akiyama…oh. The boy Takato vaguely remembered seeing in the merge. A faint memory, but it was still there nonetheless. There had been pain then, electrifying like a bolt of lightening had run into their bodies. Of course Jenrya hadn't felt it. Jenrya was above such things. But it had hurt Takato, even through the walls of his white room._

**Our range is still limited as I have not expanded enough to have full control over all resources. Your Digimon must help.**_ Jenrya sat down silently next to him, the gray-within-black eyes still fixed on Takato. _**For we will not be completely safe until that happens.**

_ Takato paused. Will…will you leave me if we're not safe?_

_ There was only silence as Jenrya said nothing._

Open fear coursed through Takato again. No promise, no certainty. Unsafe in itself!

_ With reluctance, he bent to Jenrya's demands. Jenrya knew what he was doing. He would protect them both from the threat from without. _

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya realized he'd dozed off when he suddenly awoke with a start. Cursing himself for not being more on the ball – what if something had happened when he'd been asleep? – Jenrya sat up, rubbing at still blurry eyes. It was nearing morning, the room no longer cast in the same uneasy darkness of night. There was a grayish light now and he could make out the other people in the living room. Ryo's female guardian remained asleep, but even then he could see how pain drained the color from her skin. He really hoped his father returned soon.

Ryo himself still slept. In his sleep he'd sprawled out, shedding the borrowed blanket onto the floor. He didn't appear to notice that it was gone, instead breathing softly. Winding his way around the couch, Jenrya bent down to pick the blanket up and turned, intending to drape it over the other boy. He stopped.

Somehow the edge of Ryo's shirt had been pulled up during the night, probably through his tossing and turning. That wasn't what caught his attention and held it. Jenrya could barely make it out in the dim light, but… _What is this?_ It couldn't be what he thought it was, could it? Surely not. But…yes. There was no mistaking it. He could make out the dark, ugly knitted flesh of a large scar that almost covered Ryo's entire side. The scar was a nasty one, so large that it almost could have been mistaken for an extensive burn. He could only assume that the scar continued up all the way to the boy's shoulder, if he was to judge it just from the size of the visible part.

Jenrya started to feel sick just looking at it. It wasn't quite the sight of it (he'd seen his fair share of scars), but rather what the wound that had caused something that large must have looked like.

When he summoned the courage to look back more closely, he found that Ryo's black eyes were on him. The expression on his face was deathly cold.

Without speaking, Ryo quickly pulled down his shirt and covered the edges of the scar. It infuriated Ryo that Jenrya had seen _it_. He wasn't supposed to. No one was supposed to! Not even Tamayo. It was "his" mark. But the fact remained that Jenrya _had_ seen one of his many scars and being angry about it wouldn't erase that. Taking a moment to try to calm himself, he closed his eyes. It would be pointless to snap about something like this. But still... _It_ was supposed to be private!

Jenrya remained stunned. Whatever he'd just seen, it hit too close to home for the other boy. Too close. Too personal. _I've never seen him this close to losing control._ For a moment, he'd been certain that Ryo was going to hit him. But the blow never fell and instead the brunette fought to collect himself before opening his eyes again.

"Don't _ever_ mention that to anyone," Ryo said quietly. Barely suppressed fury colored his voice. "Not to Tamayo. Not to me. Promise me you'll forget what you just saw."

Jenrya promised as sincerely as he could, but Ryo knew that forgetting was the last thing on his mind. That brief glimpse of Ryo's scar had been burned into his mind. Curiosity and the beginning of confused pity were already forming on Jenrya's face. Ryo didn't want his pity. It wouldn't make the scars magically vanish nor would it heal the old hurts he'd suffered. Sure now that he wasn't going to lose control, Ryo glanced at his watch. Just an hour or so before dawn.

Jenrya still watched him with concerned eyes. Ryo was determined to pretend nothing had happened. But something had. Something had happened, had hurt him so badly that his body couldn't even fully recover. And who knew what it had done to his own mentality? There were scars, both inside and out: but it was the ones within that there were still raw and bleeding even as the ones without knitted. Compassion arose in Jenrya as the glimmers of understanding emerged.

_I should help him._ But how? He didn't know very much about the other boy. Ryo told him to forget it. But that wasn't the right choice, was it? So if it wasn't, what was the right one? What if, by trying to help, he only succeeding in making it worse?

Ryo flushed, feeling those pitying eyes on him. This was exactly what he didn't want. It was why he was so damn anal about covering himself up, even if only Tamayo was there. He didn't want that type of compassion; he didn't deserve it from Jenrya or his female guardian. Better to keep it to himself, hide the hurts away out of sight from all but his own obsessive thoughts. Irritably, he spoke up:

"I said to drop it."

Jenrya frowned. "Ryo…"

"…I don't want to talk about it," Ryo said. "If I do, then I will. But I don't. So stop looking at me like that."

Jenrya looked away, biting his lip. It didn't feel right to just pretend that Ryo was perfectly fine when it was clear he wasn't.

"Dammit," Ryo muttered. He really didn't want to be dealing with this. "Look. My problems are mine alone. So if I want to keep them to myself, then please respect my privacy."

Jenrya looked ready to press the matter but Ryo only glowered at him until the other boy relented and gave a quiet nod. Ryo refused the blanket that Jenrya offered and got to his feet. Jenrya watched as Ryo knelt by his guardian in the gray light. Tamayo remained asleep, face wan. She hadn't improved much – if at all – during the night. After a moment, Ryo got to his feet. He looked tired, aged beyond his years and exhausted. It was the first time Jenrya had seen Ryo without any smile, faked or not. The dark spots under Ryo's eyes remained.

"You should get some more rest. It'll be a few more hours before my dad comes."

Ryo waved away the advice wearily. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You look terrible."

"No, I don't," Ryo insisted. He straightened. "I'm up already anyway."

Jenrya made a face. Well, there was nothing he could do about _that_, aside from trying to force Ryo to get some sleep, which probably wouldn't work. At the very least he could see to it that his guests had something to eat. Ryo sat down at the counter as the blue-haired Tamer began to make a quick breakfast. Jenrya set out a bowl of cereal and fruit for the two of them. At first they ate in silence under the dim light of the bar's lamp. Ryo focused on the task of eating, while Jenrya occasionally snuck glances at the older boy sitting across from him.

Ryo didn't look up from his bowl as he finally broke the silence:

"Remember when I first met you?"

Jenrya blinked. He did but that seemed like years ago. This was the last thing he'd expected to be brought up. But deciding that there was probably a point to this, he nodded, "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"…I was just thinking. I said some weird things. I just realized that I don't know why I said them." Ryo shrugged, stirring the remnants of his cereal about the milk.

Jenrya didn't know what to say. Why was he bringing this up now?

"I don't think I knew what I wanted to do with my time. I mean, yeah, sure. I knew that my time was limited. But I didn't know what I wanted to do with it. So I said some weird things without thinking. I acted like none of it mattered…" Ryo trailed off and continued to swirl about the cereal moodily. "…I don't know. It wasn't important. I was just thinking about random things. Forget it."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"It was stupid. I shouldn't have brought it up."

Jenrya dropped it reluctantly. No point trying to press the matter if Ryo would just be evasive about it. The other boy didn't finish his cereal, instead absently toying with the spoon. Jenrya himself wasn't really hungry. Not after the past events, and especially now that his curiosity kept coming back to nag at him. It was becoming obvious that Ryo had other reasons for the way he acted. Closely guarded secrets that even his guardian would never know.

_He can't keep it to himself all the time._ The more time Jenrya spent with Ryo, the more he was starting to recognize that all those grins were false, simply forms of defense. He wasn't quite sure why. Maybe Ryo was afraid of what would happen if people started to take him seriously. But this wasn't something he could keep asking about. Despite his concern, this was something that would have to wait. If Ryo did finally feel up to it, then Jenrya would be ready to listen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sky had become heavily overcast as the morning dragged on. The clouds scuttling across seemed to portend a heavy downpour. Jenrya sighed. Perfect weather for his current mood.

He'd had a lot of explaining to do when his dad had finally come home. Ryo had been kneeling next to Tamayo, changing the dry towel on her forehead for a fresh one when Jenrya's dad had arrived. He stopped, startled to find two strangers in his living room. Jenrya had hurried in before his father could start interrogating Ryo. Jenrya tried to explain as best he could why they were there, carefully avoiding any mention of Digimon. Or Golems. Or just how exactly Ryo's guardian had broken her leg. He wasn't sure if his dad bought his explanation, but he did agree to take Tamayo to the nearest hospital.

Ryo tried to hide it, but his face betrayed his relief. But that moment of brief weakness had passed. Now that Tamayo had been carefully carried to the car and driven away, the dark expression returned. Jenrya wouldn't be surprised if he was busy convincing himself that all the hospitals wouldn't be able to treat her leg. Or had burned down somehow. Or perhaps had been gutted of their personnel by the Golems –

_And you're starting to sound just like him_, Jenrya reprimanded himself. They could only wait and see. And hope.

At the moment, Jenrya wanted to try to find out more about this threat that Ryo had talked about last night. But Ryo's answers were all essentially the same and there wasn't much he could ask that didn't stray too close to the sensitive topic of the Digital World.

_It's either fight or wait for some sort of miracle_. Easier said than done, though. Aside from the hostile Digimon – and the false Takato – there didn't seem to be a lot to fight against. Going after the hostile Digimon probably wouldn't amount to anything. So any chance they had was in Takato. Follow the false one. And perhaps they would be led to the real one.

This was just bizarre. Any other Sunday and he wouldn't have even been thinking of any of this. But everything had changed once Takato had vanished…

_But he can't be the reason for all of this. Ryo pretty much said that this was in motion years in advance._

Jenrya sighed. There was no choice. None of this could have been avoided. He still had hope. They would have to just work with what knowledge they had and hoped it all worked out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yamaki had moved quickly. Nagamora would give him that.

By morning, Yamaki returned. Glaring pointedly at the unmarked vans, at the soldiers and at Nagamora, he walked right through the blockade, leading his own team of technicians into the building's front entrance. It had been rather ballsy – the soldiers had their rifles trained on the group the entire time – but there had been no order to fire. There was simply no reason.

After all, it would've only been a matter of time before Yamaki would begin to get suspicious. The important thing was to keep him, and any other interference, out of the premises when the Juggernaut was doing its job, which was primarily at night. Right now the entire building would be practically stained from the residue of thousands of Golems. Nagamora was confident that Yamaki would be hard pressed to find anything in that mess any time soon. But the fact remained that Yamaki would have to be dealt with.

Yamaki had just disappeared through the front doors with his entourage when Kincaid joined Nagamora. She came up beside him, glancing up.

"You're sure it's alright?"

"Perfectly. But it's nearing time that he'll need to be seen to."

Kincaid shrugged, "Fine with me. Are you going to do it or am I?"

"You will. He trusts you more than me," Nagamora replied. He paused. "Although perhaps I should be close by when you take care of him. He'll attempt to resist, and –"

"– you don't want to see anything happening to me," Kincaid finished. She flashed him a grin. "I'm a big girl."

"It's precisely that attitude that always worries me, my dear."

Kincaid only rolled her eyes at his mild retort. Nagamora shook his head. He wished Kincaid would be less impulsive. Or at least show _some_ concern for her well-being. Back in the Digital World, she'd been so confident, so reckless that it even bordered on suicidal. He had never told her that, naturally. If there was one thing she would have taken offense in, it would be being compared to human practices, especially if _he_ was the one doing the comparisons.

"I just wish you would be more careful in your approaches."

"I _know_ that."

This was an old argument. "So why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Because I can take care of myself, so I don't need unnecessary advice," Kincaid said.

"…I'm not just saying it for the sake of hearing myself speak. I really do want you to be careful. I mean it when I say that I don't want anything happening to you."

Kincaid fell silent at this. It made her uneasy to hear that kind of open honesty from anyone, even from her companion of several years. She had never had a life-mate – didn't intend to either – but she could admit that she liked Nagamora well enough. Even when they both shared these misshapen, two-legged bodies, the Founder was still in there. Still the same, even concerning these old exchanges. He certainly acted like he thought they were life-mates. Ruffled, she changed the subject:

"When should I deal with him?"

Nagamora looked put-out, as always, when she retreated. But he went back to business. "In a few days. Perhaps Wednesday. Preferably no later than the end of the week. Will you have time from your duties to do this?"

"I'll manage. It won't take long anyway."

"Please be neat about it. Make sure that you get the body out of the building without being seen. You can dispose of what's left however you see fit, but we can't have this being messy."

"How're you going to explain Yamaki's disappearance?" Kincaid toyed with a lock of her vibrant purple hair, lips curled in a smile. This was safer grounds than the conversation only a few seconds ago. She'd much rather talk about business than Nagamora's concerns for her.

"I'll simply say he's been transferred. I've shown myself enough there that they'll recognize me as his superior. They won't have any reason to suspect anything amiss if you take care of him neatly."

"I will."

Nagamora pursed his lips – telling her again to be careful wouldn't do anything. The Deceiver would simply brush it off, laugh it off as she always did when he got too serious and earnest for her comfort. Still, he would be sure to be within the area when she finally went in to take care of Yamaki. That was the least he could do. Kincaid would simply have to humor him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The air felt different. Strange.

Renamon's eyes narrowed. The air felt like it was run through with electricity, more than would be normal with a coming storm. And while there was a storm coming, that wasn't the cause for why her hackles were rising. Perched on the wall surrounding the back of Ruki's house, the fox-type surveyed the city. The haunting lights from last night hadn't escaped her notice. Neither did the static in the air.

_Something is here._ A large Digimon had biomerged recently but there had been no sign of it. But whatever it was, it was busy. It was more than likely responsible for the way the sky was charged, and the sudden incoming storm.

After the meeting with Ryo Akiyama, she had a private aside with Ruki. What the strange human boy said seemed to fit what was happening now. Renamon had tried to fill in the gaps with what she remembered of her time in the Digital World. She remembered some talk of a Council. And that they had been looking for members of a Line to carry out the Council's plans. But that was all she knew.

"It's starting to rain – why're you sittin' out here, Fox Face?"

Renamon looked down. Impmon stood just under the fence.

"I'm trying to think."

"Don't strain yerself."

"I don't mean to." Renamon said, more in habit than anything else. "I thought you would've left a while ago."

Impmon looked cross at this but shrugged. "I was plannin' to watch the fireworks, but that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"So you really are leaving?"

" 'Course I am. But I thought…" the darkly furred Rookie made a face, and reluctantly continued. "…that maybe I might drop by one last time. See how things were holdin' up."

Renamon looked down sharply at this. Surely he hadn't just implied…? "I never knew you were sentimental."

Impmon sputtered angrily at this, his cheeks flushing a faint shade of red as he swore up and down that he was no such thing and that if Renamon was implying that he was a weak, wishy-washy Digimon, she was going to be sorry. But his thrown insults held less bark then they usually did. He was the first to avoid her gaze, muttering empty curses.

Renamon sat patiently through it. "Being sentimental isn't necessarily a bad thing." She held up a paw before Impmon could go on another tirade. "My choice is to stay here, with Ruki. She's my partner, after all. If you desire to leave, then that is your choice. Perhaps it might be the smarter of the two choices."

Impmon's expression shifted to an unfamiliar one. He shuffled his feet and coughed.

"Well. Maybe. It…wasn't an easy one. I was goin' to stay. But it's gotten too dangerous," Impmon said.

"I know. But if this continues, there won't be anywhere to retreat to."

"…I know," Impmon said quietly. He looked uncharacteristically serious. "But I still can't stay. Otherwise I won't last much longer."

Renamon tilted her head. That was strange. As far as she knew, the other Digimon generally ignored Impmon, yet he was acting like he'd just had a death warrant signed. "What do you mean?"

"I was offered a deal that I decided I didn't like. The choice was either cooperate or be deleted." Impmon scowled. "I didn't like what they wanted me to do. I don't hate humans that much, but I don't have a death wish either. So I'm going to hightail it outta here while I still can."

"Who offered this? What exactly did they want?"

Impmon fidgeted uncomfortably. "That other 'Tamer' did. He came t'me a few days ago. Said that I'd be given the chance t'join their side and fight for them, that I'd be forgiven for something I don't even remember doin'. He said that if I didn't, he'd be forced to delete me personally."

Other Tamer…? Renamon froze. That could only mean Takato – the one they had encountered not long ago. Her claws dug into the wall as she leaned forward, suddenly attentive. Impmon might be able to help…

"Did he have goggles? Blue eyes?"

Impmon nodded. "Yeah."

"We need to find him. Could you – "

"I ain't actin' as bait."

Well, that had been her last idea. "Impmon, it's important that we find this imposter – he could lead us to the real Takato."

"Sorry, but I don't wanna play hero. I'm leavin'."

Renamon couldn't do anything, aside from forcing him. And that wouldn't be wise, because then he might be tempted to actually take the fake-Takato up on the offer and join his side. Her furred shoulders fell. Then Ruki and she would have to find some other way to find this Digimon and track him. Inwardly sighing, she nodded.

"Very well."

"I guess…uh…good luck," he said awkwardly. "Be seein' you 'round when things settle down."

He quickly hurried away before Renamon could say anything. She watched him go without a word.

_Let's just hope we have any luck left…_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid watched as the sky buckled under the clouds' weight and released a torrent of gray rain. The Shield was at work. She knew the symptoms. Whenever he was forging a masterpiece, the weather always reacted like this. Dark skies. Heavy rain. The black storm-clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. He was nearly done with his work. _He's been working ever since he got here._ The Deceiver was impressed. Zudomon, of the tainted Digimon, had been one of those most hard hit by their human partner's eliminations.

But now? He was one of the most stable of the remaining group. Greymon looked to be promising but he had been reckless, uncontrollable. So he was gone now. It was just as well, Kincaid decided. If he hadn't disobeyed the Council's order then, he would've done it later, at a more crucial point.

Zudomon must be almost done with his creation. It would be the largest of its kind ever forged, both in the Digital and Real Worlds. The easiest way to describe it was an artificial barrier: to be quaint, a shield. It would be selectively permeable; only Digimon and Golems would be able to pass through it. The humans would be penned in Tokyo, and any outside attempts at help would be repelled. Once that was up, the Shield only had to maintain the upkeep of the barrier. And once he was finished with his creation, any attempts at secrecy would be dropped.

It wouldn't matter then if the humans knew. It would be too late – they would have nowhere to run.

_And then I would be done_. The disposal of the bodies left by the Golems would be left to the Juggernaut. Her job would be over. As would be the Founder's. She supposed she and Nagamora would still be required to stay behind to supervise. Nagamora would probably be relieved. He had been here the longest, working alone. A rest would be beneficial for him.

_So how am I going to deal with Yamaki?_ Well, she had plenty of excuses to get him away from the others. The room would have to be sound-proofed for her to work though. One of the many meeting rooms in the tower would work. They were all soundproofed and several of them were so large that they occupied almost a full floor. She'd try to do it by Wednesday: who knew if he got lucky and found evidence that would bring him to the Juggernaut? Better to silence him before he started getting loud.

There was also the matter of those traitorous pests. The Digimon who broke the taboo and associated freely with the human children. They were stupid – surely they had learned from the previous ordeals. Kincaid hadn't been pleased with her servant when he'd returned missing one of the Ogremon. The children, she had said, were for the Juggernaut to deal with. His duty was to do as he was told and nothing different.

Speaking of which, she was going to have to send him out again to look for Impmon. He should have given his answer by now…his silence could only mean his refusal. Kaminmon would have to delete him before he sided with those children. Pity, that. It was a waste, but there was nothing else to be done. Obviously four years of exile hadn't taught him anything.

"It's raining pretty hard, isn't it?"

Kincaid turned. Reika stood behind her with two cups of coffee. Kincaid accepted the offer, grimacing mentally at the bitter taste. She could swallow human food, but just barely. Coffee had never been one of those easy to take. It was with an effort that she didn't spit it right back out.

"Yeah. I love it when it rains this hard."

Reika sipped from her own coffee, shooting a quiet stare over the rim at the technician. Kincaid was up to something. It was just a feeling, but it grew by the hour. "So what did you think of the blockade?" she asked conversationally.

Kincaid shot a sharp look at Reika, but the model had no other expression on her face other than one of idle curiosity. Wondering if Reika was more observant than she appeared, she turned back to the rain-slicked window.

"I dunno. Don't really think it concerns me. That's Yamaki's business, not mine."

"What concerns Yamaki concerns us too," Reika said.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm sure Nagamora and Yamaki can work something out."

Reika paused. She remembered the bespectacled man watching them last night when they had left the blockade. Thinking about it, she didn't trust him anymore than she trusted the foreigner standing next to her. "I don't know. They always seem like they're at odds with each other…"

Kincaid only gave a laugh. "You know how men are – always having pissing contests with each other."

"Yeah, but Yamaki's not that petty. He cares more about Hypnos than anything else." Reika stared at her coffee. Hypnos had always been his priority, even when she had first met him. It was the only thing that kept him running.

"Nagamora's his benefactor. He'll know what's best for Hypnos."

"So why did he try to shut Yamaki out from the building? And all of us? He should know that Yamaki's probably one of the most important people involved."

Kincaid's eyes narrowed. These questions were taking a dangerous turn. This conversation was going to have to end before it went into places she didn't want it to. Finishing her own coffee – fighting down the reflex to gag in disgust the entire time – Kincaid shrugged and threw the empty cup out.

"I don't know. You're asking the wrong person. Thanks for the coffee," Kincaid said, inwardly scowling at the fact that she'd had to choke it down and half-convinced that Reika had given her it on purpose. "I better get back to work helping with the investigations. Busy girl and all that!"

With that said, Kincaid hurriedly left.

_ She's up to something…_ Reika frowned. The way she avoided certain questions was one indicator. Another was the way that she favored Nagamora; perhaps she had inherited it from Yamaki, but Reika found that she really didn't like – or trust – Hypnos' benefactor very much. He was as unnerving as Kincaid was once you looked at her. Reika couldn't understand it. How could Yamaki be blind to Kincaid? For a second, there was a swell of the beginnings of jealousy. Could Yamaki and Kincaid be…?

No, that was stupid. Yamaki could barely put up with Kincaid for any extended amount of time. The idea of them having sex behind Reika's back was ridiculous. Besides, she had no reason to be jealous. Yamaki had made it clear that there was nothing between him and Reika other than the sharing of beds.

Still. Something was funny. The longer Reika came into contact with Kincaid, the longer her instincts began to protest that something was wrong with her co-worker. It wasn't right, the subtle way Kincaid moved, the very way she talked. It was alien. Inhuman. And it wasn't just because she was a foreigner. Her instincts were telling her that no natural person moved like this, _felt_ like this. Reika bit her lip. Perhaps this was just a baseless suspicion. But with something this serious, she was rarely wrong.

_I think I should warn Yamaki._ Even if he did look at her like she was an idiot, this was worth it. Yamaki had a right to know that there was the possibility that Kincaid might have ulterior motives. Or might not be completely loyal. Yamaki had made many enemies, but Reika didn't know if some were serious enough to send in operatives to undermine him. Or even kill him?

No. That was stretching it.

But the fact remained that Reika was growing increasingly convinced that Kincaid didn't belong. She headed toward the elevators, intent on finding Yamaki.

Kincaid by this time had reached the Yuggoth deck. She wasn't pleased at the near-confrontation with Reika. Reika definitely sensed something. _All the more reason to get rid of Yamaki before she reports me._ First thing Wednesday morning, she promised herself. Less than seventy-two hours for Reika to find anything solid to base any suspicions on. It wouldn't be hard to avoid Reika until Wednesday morning.

Most of the investigation team was focused on the primary data banks and the Yuggoth system – Yamaki had wanted to make sure that those were undamaged from whatever had been happening last night. Kincaid worked to the side, hidden by one of the large consoles. She needed time to think and the best way to do it was to keep out of the way. She loved to tweak these humans, but now wasn't the time. Yamaki could be a problem still, even in his last remaining days. The Juggernaut would continue to absorb energy from the Golems that came from Tokyo and its outskirts. Yamaki couldn't be coming by every night and raising a commotion.

_ There's got to be some way to distract him._ Yamaki couldn't be bribed. At least not with human money, not when he had plenty pouring in from his supporters. There had to be some other way to distract him during the night-hours. Her mind drifted as she ran the hand-held scanner over the computer's array of wires. What did he do at night?

…Wait.

He sometimes left with Reika. Alone.

_ He's not particularly affectionate. So it's for the intercourse then._ Perhaps she could distract him for the remaining nights, offer her body to him long enough that he wouldn't be in any position to notice the lights. That was an option, but the idea of it was disgusting. Mating with a _human_? It made even her feel ill and she considered herself liberal. Nagamora would be furious if he found out what she was considering.

The idea of the Founder in full blood-rage made Kincaid quail inwardly.

Mating with Yamaki would be a last resort. Better if she could get someone else to do it. She didn't even know if she could distract Yamaki long enough that he wouldn't look out the window and see the river of lights. So it would be much wiser to have someone else do the mating for her, someone the blond man trusted. And who else was already in that position, but Reika? Reika was probably more experienced then her in the matters of human intercourse anyway. Yes, Reika was obviously the better distraction.

_Yamaki must use intercourse with Reika as a type of stress relief._ Well, that made things easier. Kincaid would simply have to make it a living hell for Yamaki to be in the same room with her. She would dog after him, annoy him to no end and create such a headache that he would have no choice but to leave with Reika. That really shouldn't be hard, not with all the other problems that Yamaki had to deal with over the past week. She would simply be another straw on the camel's back.

Spying Yamaki coming onto the deck, Kincaid pasted an impish grin on her face and bounced out of her hiding spot, heading straight for the blonde. It was time to do her job.

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"I just got a call from Ruki."

Ryo looked up. "What'd she want?"

"She wants to know if we should try to do a search tonight. Like, try to find any wild Digimon and see if we can find that fake Takato."

"It sounds like a start."

"Okay, hold on." Jenrya directed his voice into the phone receiver. "Yeah. We can do that. When do you want to do this?"

"As soon as it gets dark?" Ruki said on the other end of the line. "We can start searching close to home and widen our range as we go. We could meet up around nine or something. I mean, I can search pretty late. My mom doesn't care."

"Nine sounds fine. My dad had to take Ryo's guardian to the hospital, so I'll be able to stay out late too."

"What happened?"

Jenrya glanced at Ryo, but the brunette wasn't looking at him any longer. He was looking out the window at the rain pelting the glass window, expression unreadable. "Long story. Basically she fell from a two-story window and broke her leg."

Ruki went silent for a moment. "…Jenrya, I'm not in the mood for jokes."

"Neither am I. I'm not joking."

"I want an explanation when we meet up." Ruki said coolly. "Anyway, you know my cell number. If you find anything before then, call me."

"I will. Same goes for you." Jenrya hung up, bowing his head. It sounded easy enough, but the chances of finding anything were still small. Takato was gone, and so was Guilmon. But instead of looking for them, they were going to run after the fake Takato, risk another encounter with him. _Let's just hope things work out._

Ryo hadn't moved from his position. Jenrya sighed. He honestly couldn't keep up with the other boy's constant mood changes.

"Come on, let's do something."

Ryo glanced at him. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could just, like, look around ourselves. See if we find anything."

"Fine. Whatever." Ryo had a humorless grin on his face. "Nothing like wasting time."

Jenrya resisted the urge to retort back that leaving the house was better than sitting inside doing nothing. Ryo probably hadn't meant that. He still had a long way to go in understanding Ryo. This was just one of those things he'd have to get used to. He wasn't going to be so quick to judge as he had been when he'd first met Ryo. Jenrya went over and got an umbrella as Ryo got to his feet and checked the large cut he'd gotten last night. It had fully scabbed over. Jenrya waited by the door; Terriermon had joined them, now perched on his Tamer's shoulder.

Ryo joined them. Jenrya held the umbrella as Ryo walked as his side. The wet street outside was practically empty: rain pattered heavily on the sidewalk in sheets. Ryo frowned. Something felt weird. Like…something was off with the air. It wasn't the rain. Something else…

"Do you feel that?"

Jenrya blinked. "Feel what?"

"The air."

Jenrya stared at him in confusion, but Terriermon nodded after tilting his head for a moment. "Yeah, I feel it too. Kind of like it's charged with static or something?'

"Yeah. It shouldn't feel like this," Ryo glanced up at the black sky above, frowning.

"You're sure it's not just the incoming storm?" Jenrya asked.

Both Terriermon and Ryo shook their heads.

"That's a different kind of feeling," Terriermon said. "This is stronger. Doesn't feel right for a normal storm. More like some sort of digital field, except it's too weak for that." The bunny-Digimon shrugged. "Don't know what it means though."

"Don't look at me," Ryo said when Jenrya turned to him. "I don't know either."

"It's probably not something positive," Jenrya shifted the handle of the umbrella in his fingers. "Maybe it's another sign of the weakening rift you were talking about?"

"Could be."

The three walked in silence under the shelter of the umbrella. Terriermon kept on the lookout for any digital activity in the area as the two boys fell into thought. Jenrya stole a glance at Jenrya. What had just happened? How could both Ryo and Terriermon sense something that he himself was blind to? It didn't make sense. Ryo was human, like Jenrya. _Maybe he just picked up that sensitivity from the Digital World?_ That was one guess, but he certainly wasn't going to ask. He wouldn't get an answer.

The strange feeling in the air still bothered Ryo. Now that he thought about it, Terriermon was right. It did almost feel like a digital field, except more widespread. Stretched. Unnatural. _They_ were doing something – perhaps it might just be the rift weakening day by day but this was too sudden. The wonky weather was probably a result from the rift. But not this. He wouldn't have noticed it then.

Ryo tried to remember what he'd seen and heard back…back _then_. It wasn't pleasant, those memories. Even the "safe" ones. The specifics he hadn't known. Something about a governing Council. They had to be using Tokyo as a fuel source for whatever was going to make the breach. But that was about all he knew. It didn't explain anything.

_I don't know why I thought I could be such a big help._ When it came down to it, Ryo didn't know anything that could be useful. It had been arrogant of him to think that he knew everything that had been going on. It was just like all the things he'd said when he'd walked into that classroom days previous. He didn't even know why he had acted like that. Ryo's thoughts turned to Tamayo. Was she alright? He hoped so. It was his fault that her leg was broken. But still, it might've been far worse if he hadn't taken the lesser path. But the fact remained that he was the one responsible for her condition, good intentions or not.

Then there was the problem of this morning's incident. Ryo swallowed down the anger before it could rise again. There was nothing that could be done. Someone would have seen it eventually. At least Tamayo had no idea what scars covered his body or what he had suffered only a year ago. If he could spare anyone, it would be his female guardian. She was a true innocent, after all. She had no place here, in the midst of everything.

_ It's probably too late though. We're in too deep to be pulling back out. _Ryo didn't want to think of it like that, but that was how it was. He would also have to consider the fact that it might not just be him that would eventually die, but others like Jenyra, Ruki and Tamayo.

It was times like this he started to wish he hadn't managed to escape the Digital World. If he had died, he wouldn't be plagued with these worries, these fears.

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_Jenrya? Takato asked timidly._

**What is it?**

_Are we going to be alright?_

**Yes. Our survival is given priority above all else.** _Jenrya paced about the room, turning his gray-within-black eyes about the door-less room that the Will hid in. His alien eyes returned to Takato, gaze piercing_. **I assure you that we will survive any attempts at assault.**

_Takato trembled. There would be attacks. That was a given. It was fact. Reality. Those outside hated both of them. That was the only reason he could see for the desire to kill Takato and starve Jenrya. The idea that there were people out there who genuinely wanted this frightened Takato, almost more than Jenrya frightened him. Jenrya could be loving, protective, but he could be cold, merciless. Ruthless. He killed without a blink. Takato remembered killing those two guardsmen at the harbor. _

_Jenrya had done that, but so had, to some extent, Takato. There was a point where Takato couldn't tell who was responsible for what anymore. _

_ Jenrya looked down at his hands – they were gray in the glaring white light of the room. Other changes were happening to Jenrya as a result of their merge: now his hands were evolving, the very tips of his fingers jagged claws instead of human nails. But it wasn't organic, those claw-beginnings. Takato could see that. Jenrya wasn't alive anymore. Jenrya couldn't be. Those claws looked more like machinery, hinged yet as smooth as the coils that Jenrya was really made of. _

**Another side effect.** _Jenrya said. His lips remained closed._ **But to you, it will not matter.**

_Takato watched as the blue-haired boy rounded the small room, finally returning to stand behind him. Takato didn't dare turn around. He was afraid. Jenrya brought fear among other things. Jenrya had said that he would only be rejected, "expelled" so long as he didn't cooperate. He had already promised his cooperation. Promised it and whatever else he could give to Jenrya. But Jenrya was so powerful, so hungry and cold that he even scared Takato…_

**I know that. My…changes are involuntary. The merge has created some errors in my avatar-programming. **

_ But being with Takato couldn't make Jenrya so hungry, could it?_

**No. That is my duty to absorb what I am given.** _Jenrya's hand was on Takato's shoulder – he started at the unexpected pricking from those claw-tips_. **But now there is something you must do.**

_Whatever Jenrya wanted. _

_Jenrya's eyes slanted away, focused on some other point as he "spoke"._ **We must protect ourselves. You agreed that we would use your Digimon to help us. He is already tainted from your presence, so his use as a tool is permitted.**

_I stained him by being human._

_ Takato hung his head in shame. As always, he wished that he were anything but human. It was because he was an inferior human that he contaminated just about everything he came into contact with. It was his touch that made it so Guilmon wouldn't be of any use to the cause that Jenrya was serving. It was his touch that was at fault, just as it had been those other nine children who'd been in contact with Digimon. Humans were the ones to blame. The human touch was vile._

**It is in the past. Guilmon was contaminated by you: there is nothing to be done about that now. But he still can be useful even now. You know this. **

_…Yes, Takato did know. He knew what would have to be done. He knew it, had already agreed to do it, but still felt the ghosts of guilt. When (if such a time had ever existed) he had been unbroken, without the constant presence of Jenrya, he might not have done this, might have refused. Nothing would budge him. But it only took a silent stare now and Takato would meekly submit, shaking noiselessly. Jenrya held all the power over his friend. It was because Jenrya cared that he made him do these things. Jenrya made him hurt and kill because he cared. _

**Exactly. It is for our own wellbeing. You are in no position to govern us. **

_Takato knew that as well. _

_Jenrya bent down, a little comforting smile on his face._ **So trust me then. My judgments are always correct. I do not have the same failings as you did. I know exactly what must be done. **_His strange eyes never blinked. _**You only need to follow me. Obedience is all I ask and all you must give. I will never abandon you if you just give me this little thing.**

_Takato turned and looked up at his friend. Jenrya was right, as always. The claws tightened in an imitation of a caring squeeze. Jenrya was all that mattered, wasn't he? Even when he began to change, warp, evolve into a higher being, he was still Jenrya. Those faint memories of other humans, of Guilmon, paled in comparison. _

_Obedience. Takato already promised that. But obedience called for him to repeat it again. And however many times was necessary._

_ I'll give it to you, Jenrya, Takato offered an unfocused smile up at his best friend. For you, I'll do it._

_ Jenrya nodded. That answer was to be expected. The Will was ready for the first task: the Juggernaut had been concerned that when the Will had begun to awake, it would be rebellious and try to gain control. But calculations had proved correct and whatever little portion remained of Takato Matsuda's consciousness was obedient. The Juggernaut reached over and held out his clawed hand. The Will gingerly accepted it, staring at Jenrya as he closed his fingers around Takato's. _

** You're a good boy, Takato: you want to protect me. You're the only one I would ask this of.**

Jenrya closed his eyes. **But now it's time to do what you promised. In order to protect us, you must make your Digimon evolve. Evolution is the only way we can progress. It's the only way to survive. And we will survive no matter what happens.**

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Voices. There were voices. The loudest was Takato's: cold, commanding and confident. Takato was busy. But when Guilmon tried to ask with what, he was hushed. So after awhile, Guilmon simply stopped asking and sat down miserably, drowning in silence as the buzzing in his head kept growing louder and louder.

It must be around late evening. He had crawled toward the end of the empty tunnel, near the end where the construction yard was. Rain drummed endlessly on the wet dirt. But the buzzing in his head didn't diminish. Takato's voice made the maddening buzz better, made it easier to focus and less deafening. But Takato didn't talk with him like he used to, didn't just talk of random things like he always did. Instead his words were clipped and he spoke only when necessary. Over the course of a few hours, Guilmon had grown increasingly dependent on the sound of his Tamer's voice. It kept the buzzing bees in his head at bay long enough that he wouldn't start trying to do something dumb and bang his head into a wall in an attempt to dash them out.

There were other voices too, but none were as loud as Takato's. There was a faint one that sounded like an echo of his Tamer, but it was different. There was true fear in it, other mixed emotions that Takato's lacked. But Guilmon could never focus on that echo.

"_It's time._"

Guilmon raised his head. "Time?" he asked, but they were words that he couldn't hear. The buzz drowned them out – he only felt his jaws move but couldn't hear the words.

"_Yes. You're going to help protect me. After all, aren't I more important than anything else?_"

Well, yes, but…the others?

"_They won't like what I've become. They'll try to hurt me because of that."_

Blind anger clouded Guilmon's mind, a smoldering rage that he hadn't even known he was capable of. _No one _would touch Takato, not while he was capable of defending him! Not Takato's parents, not Jenrya, Ruki, Renamon or Terriermon. No one! Not if they were going to hurt him. Takato was everything to him. Guilmon would willingly do what it took to protect his Tamer.

"_I know you will. But you have to become stronger so you can protect me. So it's time_."

Off in the center of the Juggernaut, the white Digivice began to glow – icy light spilled forth from its LCD screen, alighting the shifting coils, the pale, unmoving face of the boy's small frame, as still as a statue. It throbbed as both the Juggernaut and the Will opened the link and poured energy into it.

Guilmon howled as burning energy suddenly filled his limbs. It hurt! More than anything else he had felt in his existence…never before had he felt such _pain_. His yellow eyes rolling, the Rookie thrashed as Takato began the evolution. Things were stretching, warping within Guilmon. The Digimon could feel the flood of energy changing his make-up; it was changing his very code. He fell on to his stomach roughly. It was tearing at him, twisting, and tearing! But he could see the change happening with his own eyes as he twitched in agony.

His fore-claws stretched, growing even as the color of his hide changed. Red melted away into an inky black. The ebony tide started at his claws and crept up his arms and hind legs even as a mane of thick silver hair sprouted from his back. Small teeth elongated into jagged knife-like fangs. Bone was pushing up from above his eyes as his snout changed, growing more angular. Guilmon kicked, rolling onto his side. His eyes flared open for a brief moment: they were fading from warm umber to a cold, merciless yellow as the buzzing increased to a deafening extent.

Pain took over as the forced evolution continued.

After awhile, the Digimon's pained cries died out. The large hulking form rested against the concrete wall of the tunnel, panting slightly. The claws trying to rip him apart retreated, leaving only Takato's voice and the maddening buzz in his skull. There was also a newfound strength running through him. Even in the Digimon's increased size, it seemed like he was swelling, too small to hold whatever energy now filled him.

He couldn't understand it. But there wasn't a need to. All that mattered was Takato's voice.

"_The evolution is complete. This state will have to do until more energy can be spared for the next further step._"

Black Growlmon grunted. What would he have to do to protect his Tamer? To protect him and shake off the ever-present insects swarming in his brain, swamping him with their hums? It was making him unable to think, to focus and driving him desperate for a way to shake them. Only Takato's voice provided any shelter and the Champion clung to his words feverishly.

"_We will strike our enemies before they can do the same to us._"Takato said soothingly. "_But they aren't together right now. We'll wait until they are and then we will move._"

Black Growlmon understood perfectly. Perhaps they had once been "friends", but not any longer. All threats to Takato were enemies and all enemies were the same. Takato, while hurt, had other things he had to do. He couldn't fend off the threats by himself forever. That was where his Digimon came in. Black Growlmon would protect his Tamer no matter the odds. Even now, the Champion could feel his Tamer's apprehension – but he had no way of knowing that it was false, projected for his benefit. All he knew was that it angered him. His Tamer shouldn't have any reason to be afraid.

The anger that Guilmon had felt only a few moments ago couldn't even be compared to the brightly burning rage Black Growlmon felt now. He hated them for making his Tamer feel like this, for hurting him. They had hurt him somehow. They did nothing, lied to him, pretended to be innocent when they were indeed guilty. It was their fault. If they hadn't been here, Takato wouldn't be hurt, or scared. Takato would be here with him, in the flesh, right now if it hadn't been for _them_.

Black Growlmon hated them all, just as he despised the incessant buzzing that only fueled his newfound hatred.

To be continued…  
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Yeah, stuff might come out slashy, but once again, there are NO couples except for Yamaki/Reika. Anyway, still working away. Reposting the art links. I might've taken some down because they were too crappy.

Anyway, my crappily done fanart so far for DSv (in no particular order, so there's new and old mixed). Just take out the spaces and cut and paste. Or just go to my deviantart account at .com and you can find the DS stuff there :

deviantart view / 2128531 / (Kaminmon and a random, OOC-gijinka version of him)  
deviantart view / 2129153 / (Takato with Juggernaut coils. This is so...old and bad. Only posting it up because it's DS fanart. Don't laugh at it's crappyness. ^^;)  
deviantart view / 2128870 / (Random oekaki of Kaminmon-Takato, Takato, and the Juggernaut-Jenrya. Anatomy is so off. I can't believe I thought this was decent. *le sigh*)  
deviantart view / 2162959 / (Two sketches of Ryo Akiyama. One is him in most of the fanfic, the other is his appearance in his Side Story. Basically a revamp of his Digital World outfit)  
deviantart view / 2167534 / (Just sketches of Ryo in his Side Story gear. I need to re-redesign the outfit again as I think it looks not-to-good now. Although I keep the hair. :P Oh, and if you were wondering about the random face, I was too lazy to erase it)  
deviantart view / 2167589 / (portraits of Ryo and Jenyra)  
deviantart deviation / 2148758 / (Portrait of Kincaid Donovan, looking slightly skanky)  
deviantart view / 2169417 / (Full-body sketch of Kaminmon)  
deviantart view / 2231354 / (Oekaki of Takato with Juggernaut coils, looking drugged. I can't draw blood. ;_;)  
deviantart view / 2242471 / (Spoilers for part of the ending chapters: Juggernaut-Jenrya and a distracted Takato. For the record, I HATE how Jenrya came out looking like a moron.)  
img8 . photobucket albums / v2 8/ FamiraD / ryo2 . bmp (An oekaki of Ryo in the Digital World)  
img8 . photobucket albums / v28 / FamiraD / jenryajuggernaut . png (Oekaki of Juggernaut's evolving Jenrya form. This is something that develops in later chapters)

Er…guess that's about it. I'm sure there're at least one or two questions regarding what's going on in **Digital Shuffle**, but I'll be more than happy to answer them. Suggestions, fanart, feedback, questions, reviews, death threats, whatever, feel free to** e-mail** me at **shampoo_famira ** or at **camille_vidanzeta ** or **IM** me at **Famira Damaris**. Thanks for reading! ^^

- Famira Damaris/Camille Vidan

_Official Quote of the Day_

"The world in all its members groans." Voltaire


	17. Colossus

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Think of this as an AU to Digimon Tamers, if that was the best outcome, then what is this outcome? This is a crossover between Tamers (main canon), Adventure, Wonderswan games, and X-Evolution.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold**for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Colossus)

Last night's search hadn't turned up anything. Just when they needed a Digimon to bio-merge too! They were going to try again today after school: Renamon reported that she'd felt a large disruption in Odaiba's direction a few days ago and Terriermon confirmed this. So Odaiba it was today.

Ruki glanced out the window of the classroom. _Why are they pretending nothing's wrong?_ There were empty seats today, more than yesterday, but the teacher continued about her business, asking the girl sitting next to Ruki to recite off the class reader. Sitting here when she knew time was limited made the Tamer want to squirm in her seat. If this kept up, she'd consider ditching school and spending her time searching for the fake Takato. At least that would be more productive!

Classes ended early, just before noon – most of the other kids were glad to get out early, but Ruki only frowned. The adults knew something was wrong, could feel it if not see it or understand it.

Ruki remained behind to clean the classroom. She had just finished when there was a knock on the door.

"Hello."

The Tamer looked up. A girl stood in the doorway, looking around in mild confusion. _A foreigner?_ Ruki raised an eyebrow. They didn't get many of those in this school, but the natural blond hair swept in twin ponytails and the accent were a give-away.

"Can I help you?" Ruki asked.

The strange girl looked at her. "I'm looking for the administration office. I'm afraid I got lost."

Oh. A new student. Leaning on the broom, Ruki sized her up. That explained why she was wearing those weird clothes – a simple, almost Victorian dress - instead of the school uniform. The foreigner was dressed as if she was going to a funeral. Black everywhere, from her high-collared dress down to her black tights and boots. She looked more like a life-sized doll than a girl.

"It's down the hall and to the right, near the stairs," Ruki said.

The foreigner offered the barest of polite smiles as she turned to go. "Thank you. What's your name?"

"Ruki Makino."

A strange expression flitted across the blonde girl's face, but she covered it up before Ruki noticed it. "Alice McCoy." Alice glanced at Ruki, and then down the hall. "I'll be seeing you later then."

She left. Ruki finished putting away the rest of her things into her backpack. Weird they'd have new students – foreign ones at that – coming in this time of year but she honestly had more important things to be thinking about right now. One of which was just what she was going to do if she really did run into the fake Takato. She'd be less conspicuous if only Renamon was with her. But there was also the risk she'd be out-numbered. Over-powered was doubtful, but power had nothing to do with it if the numbers were against her.

Shouldering her backpack, Ruki went out the door and down the hall. _Renamon and I can handle this. If anything happens, we can make a break for it._ Jenrya had his hands full anyway. She shook out her umbrella and opened it as she stepped out of the school. All the other children were gone by now, the school grounds empty and soggy with the downpour.

Ruki had disappeared down the street and out of view before the willowy form of a girl stepped out from her hiding place behind one of the trees.

Alice rested her hand on the moist bark. Her expression was thoughtful.

"She's one of them?"

A dark shadow materialized behind Alice as she watched Ruki. She nodded. "Looks like it."

"Are we going to make contact?" Dobermon growled, padding closer and nuzzling her hand with his snout. She caressed the rough fur of his forehead absently. "Officially, that is."

"We're going to have to."

Dobermon only grunted between his fangs. "Are we too late?"

"I don't know. It's getting too close." Alice rubbed behind one of Dobermon's long pointed ears. The Champion rumbled in pleasure. "We'll follow her. She probably knows where the other two Tamers are as well. If we can get them all in one place, so much the better."

Dobermon knelt down as Alice took hold of one of the steel spikes of his collar and hoisted herself onto his back. He had been there when Alice's sole her grandfather told her what she needed to do. There wasn't much time. Tamers had always been rare: the fact there were not one, but _three_ in Tokyo already was incredible. The girl settled herself between the line of bony ridges down his back.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." Alice held on tightly to Dobermon. "Let's go."

Nodding, the Champion bunched his legs and with two bounds, leaped to the roof. Rain fell around them as he raised his head, sensitive nose sniffing. The girl Alice encountered was out of sight, but her scent was still strong in the air, damp though it was. Dobermon moved from rooftop to rooftop, paws splashing on the wet surfaces as he followed the direction of the scent.

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Yamaki wished he could shoot something. Or hit something. Preferably both.

Ever since yesterday, that damned woman kept hounding him with all sorts of inane questions. Right now Kincaid was providing a running commentary on what he was doing for anyone who cared to listen. It drove him up the wall. Reika had helped last night to cure his increasing migraine but the moment he forced his way through Nagamora's blockade camped outside the building, it came back. Yamaki wondered crossly why he ever thought Kincaid was an asset.

"Sucks you keep getting all these problems right now," Kincaid was saying now, leaning on his chair. "You've got to be one of the most unlucky people I've ever been employed under."

That was it. He stood up, glaring at her.

"Don't you have a job to do?"

"I did. I was asking you a question." An innocent grin. "Job-related."

Hell, Yamaki couldn't even remember what the question was at this point. Without bothering to reply, he stalked away. This was hell week. Kincaid was right – he honestly couldn't remember having these many problems over such a short space of time. If it wasn't one problem, it was another right on its heels.

Yamaki found himself standing outside the Yuggoth's main room lighting a cigarette. The reflexes were automatic. Reika found him smoking up a storm this when she came down the stairs.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"Nothing aside from the usual stupidity," Yamaki gritted.

Reika glanced back the way she came. They were alonet. _Good. I should talk with him now._ She tried last night, but Yamaki wouldn't hear of it. He had been in a sour mood and not receptive to any kind of conversation, much less any of her "typical interrogations". Obviously his mood hadn't improved since then. "Look, can I talk to you?"

"Make it quick."

Reika shook her head. "No. In private. It's important."

Yamaki paused, but after a moment, nodded and led her toward the elevator. The ride up to his personal office was in silence. Once there, he sat behind his desk. Reika took her customary seat across from him. _How to put this?_ Deciding diplomacy would waste both of their time, she decided to get straight to the point.

"Are you worried about employee loyalties?"

Yamaki frowned. "It's crossed my mind. Is there anyone in particular this is about?"

"It's about Kincaid." The corner of Yamaki's mouth twitched at the mention of the techn's name, but Reika continued on. "I…well, this is going to sound stupid, but I don't trust her."

"I didn't think you were prone to paranoia, Reika."

"I'm not," Reika replied steadily. "I wouldn't bring this up if I didn't feel this strongly about it." Yamaki motioned for her to continue. "She seems to support Nagamora a great deal, for one thing. And I was talking to her earlier – she was avoiding certain questions. Like she doesn't want to talk about them."

"That doesn't seem enough to base any suspicions on," Yamaki said.

"I know. It's not just that either. It's…it's hard to explain. She doesn't _feel_ right. Something about her doesn't seem…well, natural."

Oh, _that_ was believable. Now that she heard her own words out-loud, Reika realized how ridiculous they sounded. She might as well be a schoolgirl trying to tattle on someone. Yamaki regarded her silently. For a moment, all that could be heard was the rain running in streaks down the office's window. Yamaki cleared his throat.

"You said she didn't feel right. Like she didn't 'belong'?"

"Yes," Reika blushed.

Yamaki folded his arms across the desk. "I might've felt that too, but not with Kincaid. I'll run a background check on her."

Reika gave an inward sigh of relief. That was good and all, but her feeling of foreboding didn't fade away. That wasn't going to be enough. Something was going to happen: she could feel the tension lacing Hypnos.

"Just be careful in the future," Reika said quietly. "I don't think that she's as simple as we thought. She might have other reasons for being here."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Reika left. Yamaki remained in his seat, thinking. He would never admit it officially, but he trusted Reika more than he trusted anyone else in Hypnos. She had been with him longest and he saw no reason for her to start misleading him now. On the other hand, Kincaid had only been here a few months. And he hadn't missed the way she favored Nagamora over him either. The fact she had been present at their meetings was an indicator that maybe she meant more to Nagamora than he guessed. Yamaki removed his sunglasses, rubbing lightly at his eyes.

Great. So now he had to be on the lookout not only for Digimon, but now for other humans as well. Reaching over, he opened his laptop and began the background search on Kincaid. While that was running, he opened up the e-mail he'd gotten not long ago.

By now it was fully translated. The address the e-mail had been sent from was bogus with no record of it ever existing. That puzzled him. Yamaki's tracking programs were of the highest caliber. They should've found something even if the address had been deleted. He focused his attention on the text. It read:

_ Your savior is the harbinger of the digital apocalypse._

The rest of the short e-mail seemed like gibberish, despite the translations from English to Japanese. Names that didn't mean anything to Yamaki. Something that looked like the coordinates of a location. Then a repeat of the one coherent line in the e-mail. Another repeat of the same line throughout the paragraphs. And that was it.

Yamaki tried to puzzle it out. The only thing he could really focus on was that one line. And the coordinates. The names he could run through a scan and see if that brought out anything. _My savior?_ Well, "digital" obviously applied to the Digimon threat. He wasn't too sure about "apocalypse"; the incoming Digimon weren't in such numbers that they were overwhelming. At least not yet. Yamaki leaned back into his seat, staring hard at the screen, green eyes reflecting the mysterious e-mail.

_ 'Your savior'..._ That might mean Hypnos. Hypnos was the biggest thing standing against the Digimon, after all. But it didn't seem quite right. That line suggested that whatever he thought was his "savior" would result in some catastrophe. Hypnos itself was doing what it could to hold back the digital menace. So it probably wasn't Hypnos itself but something else.

_ I don't have time for riddles._ He'd look at it again later. Closing the e-mail with the mental reminder to look at it later, Yamaki got up and left his office.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What happened to Juri?" Hirokazu asked.

The atmosphere in the classroom was muted. They were in the same groups, but several students were missing. Jenrya glanced at the teacher. Mr. Mori, instead of strolling up and down the aisles like he usually did, remained at his desk with his eyes glued on the newspaper in his hands.

"I think she left Tokyo for some family trip," Jenrya said.

Slouched across the desk next to Jenrya, Ryo remained silent. He looked as cocky as he did the first day he arrived, a bored grin on his face.

Hirokazu was doodling on his worksheet with a pen. "Lucky. Jeez, I wish _I_ had time for a vacation."

"Yeah." Jenrya's reply was only half-hearted.

"So what's up? Are we going to be working on this thing or what?"

"It's stupid. Why bother? It's not like it's going to help us later in life," Ryo muttered. Jenrya shot a frown at Ryo. He could at least pretend to sound more interested for Hirokazu's sake. "Screw it."

"Yeah, but it's for a grade..." Hirokazu was taken aback.

Jenrya interrupted. "We'll just finish it fast and get it over with."

Ryo at least was willing to help, but whenever anyone tried to talk to him, he only shrugged it off with the same smug expression. If Jenrya hadn't known any better, he could've sworn he'd been taken back in time to the first couple of days that he'd known Ryo. He acted exactly the same. Exasperated, Jenrya vowed to have a word with him. Or something. What did you say to someone like Ryo?

They finished around the lunch break. The teachers, for some reason, allowed the other classes to eat together: it didn't escape Jenrya's notice all the adults went into one corner of the room as a group, talking quietly. Hirokazu ran off to find Kenta as Jenrya sat down next to Ryo. Ryo didn't bother to touch the lunch he'd made for himself.

"What's wrong?" Jenrya asked finally.

"What?"

"Why…never mind." Jenrya took a sip from his soda. There was no sense in trying to argue over nothing. "I'm going to go out searching again tonight. You're coming, right?"

"Yeah."

Jenrya paused. "You don't think we'll make it."

"No, I don't. Even though it's possible, the odds are against you," Ryo said, glancing out the window, chin resting in his hand and his expression deceptively bored. "Tokyo's too big. Assuming you find Takato – not the one you know, but the Other – then what? I mean, what if he doesn't lead you to the real one?"

"I don't know. We have to try. I mean," Jenrya lowered his voice, "we don't exactly have any other plans to deal with what you told us. If we find Takato, we could cover more ground. So maybe our chances would be better for locating this…um…whatever it is that would open the door between Digital and Real Worlds."

"But even then those chances would be small."

Jenrya didn't reply.

"I don't believe you'll succeed. I know I've considered the fact I could die: have you?" Ryo paused. He was being too blunt, even by his standards. His voice softened slightly. "Okay, you're right about trying. It can't hurt."

Ryo groaned mentally. _Nice recovery_, he thought sarcastically. Ryo hadn't meant to be that harsh, but that was how it came out. Seemed like he couldn't deal with folks after all that time in the Digital World. Just because _he_ knew he was going to die before his time didn't mean everyone else had. What he had gone through wasn't the norm. Unlike him, Jenrya hadn't grown up as fast as he did, seen the number of years he had. Jenrya was definitely mature, but in some ways, he was still a kid. Kids didn't think they could get killed. Not really.

_ But then again, why should he?_ Just because _his_ last couple of years had been anything but ordinary didn't mean everyone else experienced the same thing. Ryo was the exception, not the rule.

"Sorry," Ryo said awkwardly. "I shouldn't have said those things."

The other boy shook his head. "You had a point: it wouldn't be right to get too optimistic about this."

Jenrya went back to his lunch, face troubled. Ryo sighed. Apologies were never his strong point.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time classes were almost over, Jenrya seemed to be in a better mood. Ryo was surprised, Then again, it looked like Jenrya was more forgiving then he would've been if he'd been in his position.

Ryo made it clear he wanted to visit Tamayo before they went out on their search. The storm was still dumping rain on their heads. The few people out there were huddled under whatever protection they could find. Little flickers of faint blue lightning danced across the clouds' underbelly, the rolling boom of thunder echoing.

This stupid storm was making him more and more jittery. Not only was it unnatural, it also casted the city in a dark light. Shadows yawned. And the increased electricity in the air was probably going to make it harder for Terriermon to tell when a Digimon biomerged. Ryo half-expected to run into one on the way to the hospital.

Once there, Ryo went to the front desk and told the receptionist who he was. Impatiently he filled out the paperwork as Jenrya hovered in the background, Terriermon watching from his hiding place in the Tamer's backpack. The form filled out, the two boys were led through the doors and down a series of halls. The nurse ushered them into one of the smaller rooms.

Tamayo's leg was in a brace and a small amount of color had returned to her face since the last time Ryo saw her. But she didn't look in any condition to have any visitors since it was obvious she was on painkillers. The break hadn't been clean, the nurse told Ryo. It had been necessary for her to have the painkillers in order for them to at least set the leg straight.

Jenrya half-listened to the exchange between the nurse and Ryo, standing next to Tamayo's bed. Ryo almost appeared like he was ignoring his guardian, but Jenrya didn't miss the way his gaze slid over in her direction more than once during the conversation.

"But she's going to be okay, right?"

The nurse nodded. "Oh, of course. As I said, not a nice clean break, but she can recover from it. She just needs time to heal and rest. So you're her son?"

Ryo shook his head. "No. She's my legal guardian."

The nurse's eyebrows rose slightly. "I see," she said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Why don't we take this outside?"

Ryo nodded. They walked out into the white hall outside, the door closing behind them. Jenrya sat down in the chair next to Tamayo's bed to wait for them to coming back. Terriermon shifted in his backpack.

"Jenrya, how long are we going to be here?" Terriermon whispered.

"Not that long. We'll go once Ryo's done, 'kay?" Jenrya whispered back.

Terriermon nodded and settled back into the backpack. Jenrya glanced about the room. It was basically how he'd always pictured a hospital room: barren and as cold and impersonal as the halls outside. _Not a place I'd ever want to be in._ It was an unnerving place. The conversation outside was muted and unintelligible. His gaze fell on the woman lying next to him. Tamayo's eyes were open, but they were glazed and unfocused, her chest under the sheets rising and falling slowly. He wondered if she even knew she had visitors.

He definitely hadn't expected her to speak. Jenrya nearly jumped out of his skin when a shaky, drug-numbed voice broke the silence.

"Ryo?"

Jenrya whirled in his chair. Her eyes were aimed at his general direction. "What?"

"Ryo? Are you okay?"

Exchanging glances with Terriermon, Jenrya swallowed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not Ryo," he said.

For a second, Tamayo went silent. It was like he hadn't even said anything by the way she reacted.

"Why…everyone ignore you?" the woman's words were heavily slurred as her head lolled drunkenly on the pillow. "Lef' you out there, I mean."

_ What's she talking about?_ Jenrya felt guilty, but he was starting to get curious again. She really _did_ think Ryo was here. He leaned forward, still feeling guilty about what felt a lot like eavesdropping on what was shaping up to be a one-sided conversation.

"I was gonna tell you 'ventually, y'know. Wasn't right they lef' you out there. Wasn't fair. Know you don't trus' me still, but I wanna help. Always did. Not like th' others."

"Jenrya…?" Terriermon's question was cut short as Jenrya hushed him.

Tamayo heaved a sigh, turning her eyes toward the ceiling. "Jus' wanna help," she mumbled. "Same now as las' time. Don't want t'see you hurt like las' time. Really care 'bout you; not doin' this for m'benefit. Don't want you t'hate me."

The half-Chinese Tamer's bewilderment grew. But after that, Tamayo fell quiet. She remained in the same state even when Ryo returned with the nurse. Wondering if he should tell the older boy what happened, Jenrya stood up. Ryo nodded to the nurse as she left and strode forward to stand uneasily at the foot of his guardian's bed. He didn't look happy.

"I asked if they could transfer her out of Tokyo, but they said she can't be moved," Ryo bit his lip, eyebrows knitting. "I don't want her to be here. It's not safe, not with the Golems running around."

"Ryo…"

Ryo sounded angry. "I can't even help her."

"It's not your fault - " Jenrya started to say, but Ryo rounded on him, black eyes flashing.

"If I was still a Tamer, if Cyberdra –" Ryo flushed angrily. He collected himself before continuing. "If I wasn't so powerless, I would've been able to do something. I should've told her to leave when I had the chance, but I didn't!"

Jenrya didn't know what to say to that.

"I don't know what to do," Ryo balled his fists. "I hate this."

"If we succeed, she'll be fine."

"That's assuming she manages to live long enough for us to get that far," Ryo replied bitterly. "If the Golems strike here, she'll be killed."

Jenrya frowned. Ryo was right about that too. There was a chance even if they did somehow work things out, she wouldn't make it. And thinking like that, Jenrya couldn't help but wonder about his own family's safety. They were in this too. All the more reason for them to hurry.

"We should get going, Ryo. The more time we spend out there, the better her chances."

"I know."

"Come on," Jenrya said gently. He held the door open for the other boy. Ryo followed reluctantly, but not without a long stare back over his shoulder at Tamayo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Forces were moving. The Juggernaut knew this. Exterior forces were at work even now. But something wasn't right: a factor was missing from its data banks, something that _should_ have been in its calculations but wasn't. It could have been a simple error on its part, but that was doubtful. To the Juggernaut's knowledge, all humans with Digimon had already been accounted for, both living and deceased.

It had been aware of the arrival of a foreign girl, of course. She arrived before the first veils of the Shield's barrier began to fall into place. But the Juggernaut had not realized she was one of the transgressors of the taboo until it sensed a Digimon traveling with her. If the supercomputer had been capable of true surprise, it would have done a double-take. But of course such wastes of time were reserved for humans.

Finishing its efficient removal and disposal of the corpses left over from the Golems, the Juggernaut focused its efforts on pulling up information on this new factor:

**Alice McCoy. Set search parameters to 100%.**

The search-scan came up with very little.

** Alice McCoy  
Sex: Female  
ID Number: N/A  
Status: Alive  
Nationality: N/A  
Partner: Dobermon  
Partner Status: Active  
Parents: N/A  
Next Relative: N/A  
Threat Level: Unknown**

Strange. It was unthinkable that of all the profiles the Juggernaut had access to from its growing influence on the networks, it could not trace more information than this on Alice McCoy. A closer look at the information and the trails leading to it. The information certainly existed, but it was tampered with in such a way it would be difficult to crack through the codes, even for the Juggernaut. It was possible given enough time. The supercomputer immediately set several of its extensions at work to do this.

Most humans simply didn't have the skill level to evade the Juggernaut like this. Others had somehow concealed Alice McCoy's identity, as well as her protectors' identities . Once the supercomputer cracked through the blocks on Alice McCoy's profile, it wouldn't be difficult to trace back to whoever was responsible. Measures would be taken for their elimination. It wouldn't do for skilled humans to be roaming free to do as they pleased.

Until it had determined Alice McCoy's threat level, the Juggernaut wouldn't strike at her. Only if she was a threat to itself and its duties would it take action against this new factor. It would wait for more information to filter in.

All the other systems within the Juggernaut ran smoothly. The latest energy from the Golems was stored away for its later use. The companion system operated with acceptable errors due to its human nature. And the Will was submissive. Aside from this unaccounted factor called Alice McCoy, everything was as it should be.

The Juggernaut, while mildly concerned, wasn't worried. This new factor could only be drawn here because of the already abnormally high number of humans with Digimon. It would be merely another target in the future. If they were all in one place it would be easier to eliminate them. It simply made it easier for the purge in the future.

The current energy levels were good: the Juggernaut had 5% of what would be required to make the breach. It already calculated the specific date when it would be ready. The supercomputer expected to be looking at a successful completion of its main duties in a few weeks. It was already planning ahead as to what it would do afterward. There were also its other plans – in the very rare, very improbable event that something went wrong – but those were only back-ups.

Hardly worth looking at unless the threat to its survival was very real.

The probability of that was low. Perhaps if the first Purge hadn't happened, then the Juggernaut might have considered the back-up plans more seriously. But the first nine children had been eliminated before the supercomputer had even been conceived, much less built.

These new Tamers were already crippled now that one of their own had been put to a better use. Even the addition of this Alice McCoy could pose little real danger.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki stepped off the train and opened her umbrella as she crossed the platform. Rain drummed deafeningly on the roof and poured from the blackening sky with the same strength as when she boarded the train. It had splattered violently against the windows then. Now it painted the area in a blue-ish gray light.

The platform quickly cleared of the few people still standing on it. Within a few minutes, Ruki was the only one left. Ruki waited patiently to the side. The train moved faster than Renamon could keep up, but her Digimon couldn't be that far behind.

Eventually Renamon faded in before her with a swirl of damp green leaves. Ruki nodded at her.

"Ready?" Ruki asked.

Renamon nodded. "As always."

"Do you sense anything?"

"Yes. It's a bit difficult to tell what with this…_feeling_ in the air, but there is something definitely out there." The Rookie tilted her snout. "It feels large. It's not moving, but is instead just sitting there."

"Do you think it noticed us?"

"I don't think so."

Ruki thought about this for a moment. "We'll check it out," she held up a blue card. "Ready?" Renamon nodded. ""_Digi-Modify!_ Digivolution, _activate!_"

The transformation only took seconds. Kyuubimon shook out her array of bushy tails, the last bits of residue from the evolution glinting and flickering out in blue sparks. Ruki quickly mounted her partner, holding on tightly to her thick fur. Kyuubimon burst into the air and sailed easily up to the roof and rebounded onto the next until they were traveling along the Odaiba's roof-tops. The air was far more salty than Shinjuku and Ruki could feel the icy sea air whipping at her face as they bounded from building to building.

Kyuubimon took a roundabout course, zigzagging along the rooftops, steadily drawing closer to the dark gray expanse of the sea. Despite the rain splattering against her jacket and her face, Ruki could still hear the piercing calls of the seagulls. Tiny white spots wheeled in wide circles in the distance, the birds paying no attention to the black clouds hanging over the harbor and the rest of Tokyo. Ruki put on her tinted shades. They weren't as useful as goggles might be against this rain, but they were better than nothing.

Ruki had no idea what was near the harbor. She hoped it would be Takato – the fake one – but Renamon would've been able to identify him. Probably not. Still had to be something worth investigating.

_Assuming this "Ryo" knows what he's talking about in the first place._ Ruki didn't know what to think about him. She had heard about him from Jenrya a while back and had expected a person far worse. While she was neutral about this stranger, she wasn't sure what to make of his information from the other night. One side of her seriously doubted this was the "end" and that since Ryo obviously had some screws loose – whether Jenrya noticed or not – he wasn't to be entirely trusted. But on the other hand…

A lot of things _did_ add up that supported his story. Not only what Renamon told her, but from what she'd seen happening in Shinjuku and the rest of Tokyo.

Ruki glanced up at the ugly clouds. The black underbellies looked solid, thickest over the harbor as they gently swirled…

…Against the wind.

Ruki snapped to attention, stiffening. A sharper look. She wasn't wrong. The clouds were moving in the opposite direction of the wind splattering rain at her. And now that Ruki _looked_, she could see a definite pattern to the movement. The darkest sections of storm-clouds were circling inward into a giant spiral. The mass of the unnatural mass of clouds loomed over her with the center – the blackest part – hanging thickly over the harbor. The cloud tendrils continued to slowly spin toward the center as Kyuubimon approached.

At first Ruki didn't feel any different. But as her partner bounded closer, the more she felt like the air around her was suffocating in a growing humidity. Kyuubimon didn't seem to notice any change in temperature and Ruki felt the cold impacts of the rain. She had to be imagining the wet heat of the air.

The strange imagined humidity intensified suddenly. Kyuubimon, about to close the few yards to harbor's edge, suddenly veered left along the rooftops. At the very same time, water exploded upward in a massive torrent, Ruki clung onto her partner as the Champion raced parallel to shore. _What the - ?_ Ruki risked a glance over.

An enormous Digimon emerged from the harbor waters, lumbering out. A large green carapace protected its entire back, thick horns curling up from its temples and its heavily furred snout. It easily dwarfed the two of them: the huge war-hammer alone in its bus-sized claws looked big enough to swat down a building with one easy strike. Kyuubimon peered over her shoulder quickly:

"Zudomon. An Ultimate."

Ruki cursed under her breath. "Did he see us?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure he knows we're here!" Kyuubimon said. Ruki glanced over again at the giant Digimon standing knee-deep in the harbor. He had his back to them, holding aloft his war hammer as if directing some unseen force. The gray expanse of water began to roil, bubbling over violently. Soon the center of the harbor was nothing but a strange colored froth. Kyuubimon began to move farther back, but Ruki stopped her.

"Wait! We have to see what he's doing."

Kyuubimon didn't agree with this but relented nonetheless, circling back once again around the harbor-grounds at a safe enough distance that she could dodge any attacks from the Ultimate.

Zudomon continued to hold the hammer pointed at the sky. The spiral had grown much more dense, the clouds jet-black in the center. Rain slashed from every direction and wind howled all around Ruki and Kyuubimon in a whirlwind. It reached a nearly deafening level when Zudomon hefted his war-hammer and struck the boiling water. It sent up a huge spray of foam into the air. The pillar of water shone a vivid blue, the frothy edges sparkling with bits of glowing electrical energy, and continued to travel up into the sky. Ruki openly stared, gaping.

The glowing pillar continued upward until she couldn't see the top anymore. Then it stopped. It gleamed even brighter than before and the upper region began to flatten and expand outward over Odaiba in a monstrous umbrella. From this viewpoint, it looked like it was crawling, but Ruki knew that if it was at that height, it was in reality moving very fast. At this rate it would encompass all of Odaiba within a few hours…or was it going to continue to spread to the other cities within Tokyo? Or even all of Tokyo?

"Ruki, he's just spotted us!"

Ruki snapped back to attention. She had barely enough time to bury herself in Kyuubimon's mane before the Champion bolted to the right. Zudomon towered above them, an impossibly huge, living skyscraper lit from behind by the glowing pillar. Eyes narrowed in recognition and anger, the Ultimate swung down with his war-hammer after them. At this close a range, he wasn't going to miss –

"_Schwarz Strahl!"_

Something abruptly exploded behind them and ash rained down in a white snow. Ruki glanced over her shoulder. Another Digimon had engaged Zudomon: he couldn't have arrived at a better time, managing to drive the Ultimate off-balance in momentary surprise at the aggressive assault. Ruki didn't even have to ask, for her partner had come to the same conclusion and bounded toward Zudomon again. Greasy smoke streamed up in several places from Zudomon's fur where small fires sprang up.

"_Fox Tail Inferno_!" Kyuubimon let loose an attack of her own, sending a salvo of blue flames sailing up toward Zudomon's face.

Their rescuer immediately followed up with another attack of his own. "_Schwarz Strahl_!" With a hissing whine, threads of bright red energy lanced out from the large spikes of the dog-like Digimon's collar and toward the Ultimate, leaving behind false-image trails. With their alternating combined attacks, the Ultimate was hard-pressed to choose a target.

"Ruki Makino!"

Ruki looked up at the voice and stared. Somehow she had missed their rescuer's rider but now, if she squinted, she could make out the platinum blond of pig-tails and the somber black of clothing of the other girl. Alice McCoy! No time for questions: even with two Champions, they were outmatched. It was only a matter of time before Zudomon regrouped under the surprise attack. Ruki nodded.

"Right!" She bent to speak into Kyuubimon's ear, "We saw enough. Pull back!"

"Agreed."

Alice did the same and her partner nodded. Exchanging glances, the stranger Digimon and Kyuubimon attacked one more time. Blue fire encircled Zudomon's face as the crimson beams of the Schwarz Strahl cut a hissing path through the air. Kyuubimon turned, and with a quick bound, leapt to the roof tops and raced away as quickly as she could. The rescuers weren't fair behind. By the time the smoke cleared enough for Zudomon to glare about for his assailants, they were long gone. He let loose a threatening guttural roar after them but did not follow.

The fact that she had been almost killed wasn't lost on Ruki. But neither did that make her inclined to automatically trust these two new strangers. What was with these people crawling out of the woodworks? Ruki glanced up at the sky and scowled. Whatever that pillar was doing, it was still sending out those tendrils and parts of the dark sky now had a blue tint where the growing energy had already crossed overheard.

Just what had that been? And what did this mean?

And now a cold thought: most Digimon tended to keep a low profile in the Real World. That was why they remained in their digital fields or other hiding places whenever she'd seen them cross over. But Zudomon – the largest and most powerful Digimon she'd encountered so far – had been in the open. Almost like he didn't care.

A sidelong glance at Alice. Her unexpected appearance here was far too weird to be entirely coincidental. Was she a Tamer? _She has to be – her Digimon isn't trying to kill her_, Ruki told herself. But if Alice was a Tamer, then maybe there were other Tamers around the world? What if they somehow could locate them? With that kind of help, they might be able to win… Ruki turned that thought over in her mind as she rode on Kyuubimon.

The retreat from Odaiba was in complete silence and the two Digimon were out of breath as they finally came to a stop in an abandoned construction zone. Tall cranes peered over the boarded up fences, the empty unfinished doors and windows of the small structure full of shadows. Kyuubimon managed to make it into the lot, panting. They had run straight from Odaiba to the edges of Shinjuku and her paws trembled slightly from the exertion. The other Digimon was in the same shape, tongue lolling as he panted.

Ruki slid off her mount as Alice did that same. She walked over a few paces from her Digimon and sat down on an over-turned concrete tube to redo one of her pig-tails. Ruki stared at her impatiently. Alice re-tied the black satin ribbon:

"Where are the others?"

Ruki crossed her arms over her chest. "What others?"

"The other two Tamers."

"I don't know why I should tell you. You may have saved us, but that doesn't mean I have to trust you right off the bat," Ruki retorted. Alice's partner growled warningly at this and bared his canines. Ruki didn't flinch.

Alice folded her hands in her lap. "I'm not an enemy, you can be sure of that. If I was, it would've been far less effort to let Zudomon do with you as he pleased and not come help."

Well, that made sense, but…

"So? What if you just want to get at the others?"

"Then I don't know what to say. I do want to get to the other two, but not to hurt them," Alice said, her pale eyes on Ruki. "You're going to have to trust me."

Ruki snorted. "I don't know who to trust anymore."

"That's unfortunate."

Ruki frowned. "Look, whatever you want to tell the others, tell me."

"It's not that simple!" Alice's Digimon suddenly snarled. He quieted when Alice raised a hand.

"Dobermon, wait," Alice turned back to Ruki. "There isn't a lot of time. It would be easier for me to tell you all together. Besides, there are three of you against just me and Dobermon. We'd be outnumbered if we did anything."

The foreigner had a point. Ruki didn't like it, but it was hard to argue with that type of logic. She exchanged glances with Kyuubimon. Her partner gave a small nod. Hoping she better not regret this, Ruki sighed. "Fine. I'll take you to the others. But I don't care if you saved us or not: if you try anything, I'm not going to let it slide."

Alice remained expressionless at this threat. She gestured. "Please, lead the way."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kincaid paced impatiently across the Yuggoth deck. Yamaki had fled from her again, but at the moment, she wasn't ready to run after him. Not when she had more important matters to be concerning herself with.

Those human brat tried to attack the Shield. It happened a few hours ago and it irritated her that only now she was learning of these developments. Amazing how stupidly brave humans could be! They tried attacking and had run before the Shield could dispose of them. It was as if they were calling for their own purges, defying their betters like the first nine had tried. But then again, humans were very stupid, as a collective species. One couldn't expect much from them.

But the very nerve_!_

Kincaid scowled.

_ It'll be easier to deal with them once the barrier is in place_. It would take about a day or more for it to surround Tokyo. She obviously couldn't be expected to be there in person, but she knew what it felt like when one of Zudomon's creations bonded to the ground. The very earth would quake and groan under the shimmering power of the Shield's barrier, would belch forth fire where fire had lain dormant for generations before. She had seen it happen in the Digital World. It couldn't be that different here.

That made her feel better since she enjoyed such things. You took entertainment where you could get it.

It was a bit gratifying to think \the inevitable earthquake would wipe a few of these worthless creatures off the map. Gratifying, but not very productive.

She turned and trooped down the stairs, her feet clanging on the metal grating. The incident with the Shield a few hours ago _should_ have been dealt with. The Juggernaut should have taken care of those brats before they got even within a mile of Zudomon. So why hadn't it_? Is it disobeying my orders?_ Kincaid inwardly frowned, pretending to smile and wave to one of her co-workers, for a moment feeling unsettled.

No. The supercomputer was incapable of deception. It was more likely she hadn't been specific enough in her orders, and the machine followed them literally to the word. If she meant to imply something, it might not have caught that.

Kincaid didn't understand why these children had been allowed to break the taboo before she arrived. Nagamora had to have known about them. After all, he had been one of the heads of the Purge all those years ago. He was thorough in everything he did, including killing. Perhaps he'd been given a different brief than she had concerning these new humans.

Either way, they weren't needed now. At this point in the plan, they'd get in the way and make it difficult for her to do her job. And she couldn't have that now, could she?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya picked up the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Ruki! Did you find anything?" Jenrya glanced outside. Evening was approaching, the already dark sky starting to blacken through the curtain of rain.

"Kinda. Not what I was looking for, but it's probably important."

"What is it?"

"It'll take too long to explain right now. Look, we need to meet somewhere and talk. I…met another Tamer."

"Another Tamer?" Jenrya's voice rose in surprise. Across the room, Ryo looked up. "What? Where? How?"

"I'll explain when we meet up. Are you free tonight?"

Well, he wasn't supposed to. The teachers gave him homework, but he decided that wasn't important. A small portion of him felt guilty about ignoring that, but Jenrya pushed that to the side. "Yeah, we're free. When and where should we meet you?"

"The tunnel. You know the one. Head over right now. I'm going to leave in half an hour, so you might get there before me," Ruki said on the other end of the line. "Be careful on your way over."

She hung up. Ryo got to his feet, already reaching for his jacket. "What's this about another Tamer?"

Jenrya shrugged. "Beats me. She said she met another one."

"That's impossible," Ryo said flatly. "They killed all the others. This 'Tamer' can't be a real one."

"If this person is with a Digimon, I think that qualifies them as one of us."

Ryo only scowled, clearly not ready to place any amount of trust on this, but not against the idea of verifying his doubts either. Jenrya paused in the middle of retrieving his umbrella. Ryo had just said something weird and for a second, he tried to run over just what it had been. Jenrya nearly dropped the umbrella as it dawned on him what Ryo had thrown out this time. _Killed_…all the others?

"Wait, what's this about killing all the other Tamers?"

Dammit, yet another thing Ryo shouldn't have said. "Aren't we going somewhere?" _Good going, idiot._

Jenrya remained stubbornly where he was. "Don't avoid the question. What happened to the others?"

"You don't want to hear about this –" Ryo started.

"-Don't tell me what _you _think I want to hear," Jenrya snapped.

Jenrya was serious this time. Ryo sighed. There was no way to avoid this and no matter how much he wished he could swallow those words, take them back, it was impossible now. "…Fine, if you feel that way. I'll tell you on the way to the tunnel."

The Tamer stared at him for a long moment, as if sure Ryo wasn't going to keep his word when they walked out the door and to the outside. Finally, he nodded unhappily. "Okay."

Ryo didn't want to talk about this. Honestly didn't want to: it was one of the many nasty little things he'd stumbled upon in the Digital World. One of the nasty links between human and Digimon, between the Real and the Digital Worlds. Proof enough that even humans were capable of their own kinds of evils, in some ways worse than Ryo's own betrayal. At least _he_ had found out. The first Tamers had no idea what had happened to them. Had to have died without ever knowing just what they had done wrong, or why they were even there in the first place. Supposedly they'd put up a hell of a fight in the end. Supposedly.

All he knew was they were dead. Amounted to the same thing in his book.

"We weren't the first Tamers," Ryo began as they finally stepped out into the deepening twilight. His dark expression matched his thoughts. "There were eight others before us. This was before the video games came out, they hadn't made the card game yet."

"So this was several years ago then?" Jenrya asked, Terriermon's button eyes fixed on Ryo.

Ryo nodded.

"Yeah. Back then, the concept of Digimon and the Digital World wasn't known to a lot of people. It was only after…the deaths they made it public," Ryo continued as they walked through the puddle-strewn sidewalk, rain pattering around the three. "I don't know much about the detailsm such as why the first eight were there. Or why they had been allowed to be with Digimon even though it's a taboo in the Digital World. They were already long-gone by the time I got there, at any rate."

"Eight kids suddenly vanished from their summer school. I'm sure there's some mention of them in old newspapers if you wanted to look it up. They were called the 'Chosen Children' back then. Not 'Tamers'. Sick little joke if you ask me, because who would want to be 'chosen' to end up like that? Or why monsters are out for your blood? I don't know how they got 'chosen' to go to the Digital World, except it was humans who sent them and it was humans who abandoned them when things got bad."

An old anger flashed across Ryo's face as he went on.

"The Digimon didn't attack aggressively at first. I don't think they knew what to make of us, just like we didn't know what to make of them. Eight kids probably didn't seem threatening. But something happened and, for whatever the reason, they began to attack more and hit harder. And they must have found out about whoever chose these 'Chosen Children', because any help those kids must've had before disappeared. These kids were our age – naturally they didn't know what to do and they got disorganized."

"The Digimon were the complete opposite. They _organized_. Even when the 'Chosen Children' split and went their separate ways, the Digimon rooted them out and began to systematically kill them all one by one in what they called 'the Purge'. All of those kids were killed, as far as I know. No survivors. I don't know what happened to their partners: maybe they might have been deleted themselves, who knows?"

Ryo fell silent and then shrugged as he finished up.

"Their partnership with those eight Digimon was a death warrant in itself. And it's the same now."

Terriermon shrank back inside Jenrya's backpack. "Eight kids?"

"Eight. Five boys, three girls."

"…Jenrya, what was that TV show called again?" Terriermon asked, his voice suddenly small.

Ryo frowned. He had never heard of this. "What TV show?"

"Digimon Adventure."

A sick feeling began to settle in Jenrya's stomach.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The humans were moving closer together. As night fell on the shaken city, the Juggernaut prepared for another round of data uploading. It had been tracking all the human children, but they were only now coming together. Despite the lack of information regarding Alice McCoy, the supercomputer knew what they were doing: they were attempting to organize.

That type of organization was dangerous. The joint presence of _both_ Ryo Akiyama and this Alice McCoy couldn't be ignored, not after further data trickled in concerning the latter.

The Juggernaut was going to have to act and act _now_.

A quick cycle through the courses of action currently available. Black Growlmon remained near the area where they were most likely heading for, judging on its triangulation system. There was enough spare power to force another evolution, to the Ultimate level, if it became necessary, but it would only be temporary and could fry the connection it had on the beast. Ignoring that option, the Juggernaut opted for another. It would attack both with its extensions and with Takato Matsuda's Digimon without digivolving.

_ Are they coming?_

The Juggernaut easily slipped back within the Will's psyche.

_ Jenrya suddenly appeared within Takato's little white room. His silver-within-black eyes roved about the room for a second before coming to rest on the boy before him. Takato got to his feet, hugging his thin arms to his chest. His discomfort was obvious. _

_ Fear nearly paralyzed Takato. Jenrya sometimes let him get a glimpse of what was happening outside. He had done so ever since Takato woke up here in this place. Takato didn't like it when he did that. Vague images of his enemies moving, moving together to hurt and kill just like he'd been forced to hurt and kill during the nights. But Jenrya was here now in the flesh. That could only mean that something needed to be done. Jenrya needed him, no matter how obedient Takato was, how inferior he was. _

** They're coming**. _Jenrya crossed the room, and, reading out, took one of Takato's hands in his cold claw-tips. Takato shuddered at Jenrya's mutations touching him._ **But we're not going to let them do as they please.**

_ Blind hope surged at Jenrya's words, prompting the barest of smiles from the avatar. The hand he held tightened around his claws, Takato's other arm still hugging his chest as if he was holding himself together._

** Don't worry. They won't get near me. **

I don't want them to_, Takato's fingers trembled around Jenrya's new claws. _I don't want them to find you. Don't want you to leave me alone.

** I won't. You made your promise to me and I will keep my own word. You should know me better than that.**

_ Takato received this faint reprimand as if he'd been slapped across the face. _

_ He rocked backward, wavering on his feet slightly. Jenrya's face remained expressionless, his inhuman eyes unreadable.  
_

**Very soon our enemies will be together. I told you what they wanted. And now we have to defend ourselves**. _Jenrya's lips never moved as he spoke._ **You will need to control your Digimon when the time comes. I will assist you.**

_ Why couldn't Jenrya just kill them? He was much more powerful than Takato would ever be_.

**It's a waste of resources. I am not willing to expend more energy than is necessary. Use of your Digimon is more cost-efficient in regards to all that I have uploaded.** _Jenrya replied coolly_. **Our joint attack will commence in approximately thirty minutes. You will engage Jenrya Lee and Ryo Akiyama at that time, and I will see to Alice McCoy and Ruki Makino.**

_A small kernel of Takato felt uneasy at this but he only nodded, still feeling his shame from doubting his friend who had done nothing but help him._

** This is no different from eliminating our other enemies.**

_ No difference. Just strangers…they didn't mean anything to Jenrya, why should they mean anything to Takato? _

** Precisely**.

_ Takato smiled back brokenly. Oh. That was good then_.

The Will quieted, lying dormant and waiting for the signal to start the attack.

The Juggernaut worked without ceasing through this exchange. Only a minor portion of it was needed for this and while the avatar programming for the Jenrya Lee image had been damaged by the merge and had mutated, there was no need to correct it now. The companion system was beyond being able to distinguish any difference anyway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Juggernaut already began to lay the ambush in Shinjuku.

Black Growlmon crouched in the darkness of an incomplete building's shell near the end of the tunnel where he was reborn. His eyes narrowed into yellow slits as he faced the path leading to the entrance. Takato told him his enemies were on the move. That they were on their way to organize an attack on him, to kill _his_ Tamer.

The Champion nearly broke his cover at hearing this, pure rage clouding his vision. But Takato had applied some kind of pressure - the buzzing bees suddenly agonizingly intense in the Digimon's head - and forced him to remain where he was. Black Growlmon could feel his whole frame taut with tension, his wickedly sharp claws digging into the dirt with barely suppressed fury.

He was going to kill them. Tear every last one into bloody shreds.

That thought was nice. He liked it since it made the buzzing in his skull a little better. And it was something Takato would approve of. Takato _wanted_ him to tear them into bloody shreds. Muscles tense, the large Champion quivered with a rising blood-lust. These enemies were torturing him even now! Black Growlmon wanted to kill _now_, but they weren't here yet, Takato told him. He'd have to wait.

Yet another thing that Black Growlmon hated them all for.

They were delaying their deaths just to madden him further! They were twisted. Not only did they want to hurt his Tamer, but they were out to torture him as well. How could anyone, human or Digimon, be so downright disgusting?

"_They're sick_," Takato's voice agreed. "_We're going to flush them out like the disease they are. You have to flush an infection from a wound before it spreads. They want to infect me, make me hurt even more_."

A snarl of fury rumbled through Black Growlmon's frame. His Tamer hadn't done anything to earn any of this. _They_ had betrayed him for no reason. _They_ wanted to hurt him for no reason. Why couldn't he come out and hunt them down? This waiting was unbearable, each second dragging on longer then the one before it.

"_Trust me, you won't have to wait long_."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rain didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon. Terriermon didn't like this rain: something about it felt wrong. Flat and monotonous. Dead. The trip toward the tunnel had been mostly silent after Ryo's explanation, but that didn't make it any less awkward. It was one of the few times Terriermon wished he wasn't a Digimon and that he could vanish inside Jenrya's backpack.

Terriermon hadn't really known that much about the details of the "Purge", other than that it existed and supposedly a "great evil" had been eliminated through it. In the Digital World, he had mostly kept to himself, but even rumors like that had reached him in the wild.

_ I wonder if Ryo hates all Digimon for that._ It was a random thought, but Terriermon's eyes flicked over quickly to the tall human. _Not all of us hunted those kids…_

True. But also true was that the Purge had been in the past. _Momentai_, Terriermon reminded himself. Momentai always made him more optimistic and this wasn't any exception. That Purge with the eight kids had been in the past. He had nothing to do with it. But if there was going to be another one – from what Ryo had said, there was – then the Rookie already knew which side he was on.

Eventually they took a turn down the empty street. Moonlight struggled to filter down through the storm clouds and the best light they could get was from a large lamp burning dimly in the abandoned construction site half a block away. The gloom made visibility poor, the pattering rain on the sidewalk a never-ending drum.

Jenrya finally broke the silence as they stopped under a plastic canopy of a store. He glanced at his watch.

"We might be a little early, but she's probably on her way."

Terriermon started to plop back down into the depths of his Tamer's backpack but then hesitated. His nose wasn't as good as Guilmon's, but he was picking up something. Something familiar. He frowned and tried to place the scent. Ryo glanced out at the downpour. The temperature had dropped since the sun set and his breaths came out as little puffs of white.

"So are we going to wait here or head over?"

"We'll head over in a minute. I wanted to stop and see if we forgot anything."

"I brought my D-Arc, but I don't think it's going to help. It's still fried from last time."

"I brought mine too. And some cards just in case," Jenrya bit his lip. "Can't think of anything else I might need right now. Terriermon?"

Terriermon didn't reply. He had crawled out of Jenrya's backpack during the exchange and now half-perched on his Tamer's head, small paws buried in his thick blue hair. His nose wiggled as he sniffed at the damp air.

"Terriermon, what're you doing?" Jenrya protested as his partner rested more weight on his head.

"Something smells funny," Terriermon said, his nose still twitching. "It's hard to tell with all this rain, but it's…familiar. It's not one of your human-smells."

Ryo exchanged glances with Jenrya. "Is it another Digimon?"

"I think so. But I didn't sense a digital field or anything," Terriermon sounded confused. "Maybe…I dunno. This scent though! I _know_ I've smelled it before."

Jenrya gazed out through the rain. It was hard to see through the darkness, but the only thing to see was the single construction lamp illuminating the gaping maw of a half-finished office building and the tunnel entrance behind it. Other than that, nothing. Just the same, dull pattering of the rain tumbling from the mass of clouds above. But Terriermon obviously was onto something, so...

"Can you tell what direction it's from?"

Terriermon made a face at Jenrya's question. "Not really. I think it's close but…" he suddenly froze, his small claws catching in his Tamer's hair.

"Ow! Close but what?"

Terriermon sounded panicked. "I _knew _I knew it! It's Guilmon's!"

_ Guilmon_? What was going on here? Guilmon vanished a few days ago right out from under Terriermon's nose. When did he return to the tunnels? And more importantly, why had he wandered off in the first place? Ryo made a small snort at this, clearly suspicious. Jenrya himself wasn't sure what to do. It was good and all that they found Guilmon….yet, something didn't seem _right_.

"Should we go look for him?" Jenrya asked.

"Of course we should!" Terriermon looked surprised his Tamer would even ask.

Ryo shook his head. "I don't think we should," he said at the same time.

"We can't do both," Jenrya said as Ryo ignored Terriermon's scowl. "Terriermon, are you _sure_ it's Guilmon?"

Terriermon tested the air again. "Yeah, pretty sure. There's some other weird smells, but I can tell it's his."

"Look, if the Digimon could change shapes and pretend to be human, they could pretend to be another Digimon," Ryo replied. "It's too convenient."

"…Okay, fine. We'll go into the tunnel and search there. It's not a good idea to go wandering about until we meet up with Ruki and this other Tamer she said she found," Jenrya said. "We can look for Guilmon then. We'll be better prepared if we're in a group."

It was decided. They left the safety of the store's overhang and went back under the relentless downpour. The chill of the air, mingled with the constant pattering of the storm, made it dangerously easy to fall into a lull. Jenrya forced himself to stay on his guard as they went down the side street toward the construction site that sat before their destination. He trusted Terriermon and he trusted Ryo enough now that his word was worth thinking over. Guilmon was more than likely around here – or had been recently – but there was something wrong as well.

_ Why's all this happening? Just what does Guilmon have to do with Takato disappearing_?

_ Guilmon knows we were worried about him. _Terriermon had been bouncing in pure panic when he'd found out. And even now, just as one part of Jenrya was sick with worry over the loss of his best friend, another was concerned about Guilmon. Terriermon said he had been acting like he was ill the last time he saw him. So was he okay now? Still sick?

The three neared the construction site. In order to get to the entrance, they would have to cut across the fenced-in area – the makeshift gate hung open on hinges broken from too many curious kids – and use a side gate to get into the blocked road leading to the tunnel. Jenrya had done it plenty of times whenever they met up in the past here.

For some reason, though, Jenrya found himself not wanting to approach what sat in the construction site. The blackness of the half-finished office building struck him as ominous, its structure covered with the rusting scaffolding clinging to its sides. It almost felt like it was somehow breathing.

Jenrya had just finished this thought when suddenly something bright sparked within the heart of the building:

"_Exhaust Flame!"_

The small group managed to scatter. Barely. A split second passed and a blazing heat exploded right where they stood only a minute before. It seared right through the rain and sent up a cloud of steam as the jet of white fire belched from the gaping hole in the office building.

Jenrya hit the pavement hard, splashing through a muddy puddle as he quickly picked himself up off the ground. A few feet away, Ryo was doing the same. Automatically Jenrya reached for his cards as Terriermon hopped down. Between Ryo and Jenrya stood a line of fire, some of the ground scorched into glass from the very heat of the attack, the flames flickering and dancing brightly even in the downpour.

It was by the eerie light of this fire that Jenrya caught his first glimpse of their attacker.

The Digimon blended in with the very shadows around him as he left the confines of the building. His hide was as black as the sky above, his form all too familiar to Jenrya. Spikes protruded out from the Digimon's acid-yellow eyes, the long silver mane matted in the heavy rain. The bands around his limbs and tail glowed faintly in the light as he came into full view. Long fangs revealed themselves as the looming shadow snarled, the white fire licking between those jagged knives.

Even hearing the strange hatred in the Digimon's voice, Jenrya knew exactly who this was:

Growlmon.

**To be continued…**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Again, working my way through correcting grammar and stuff in the chapters. 12/2012. The old school fanart I did for the Juggernaut and the story can be found on my Deviantart.


	18. Two Bit Betrayals

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Think of this as an AU to Digimon Tamers. This will be a crossover between Tamers (main canon), Adventure, X-Evolution and Wonderswan (for Ryo's storyline).

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Two Bit Betrayals)

This had to be a nightmare.

That was the first thought crossing Jenrya's mind. All he could see on this warped version of Growlmon was hatred, the normally warm eyes now cold and alien. One side of Jenrya frantically tried to convince himself this wasn't his best friend's partner, that he was another fake. Maybe another Growlmon. But Guilmon had been one of a kind, unique in the entire world.

Terriermon's mouth was dropped open. Even Ryo looked shaken. Growlmon – no, _Black_ Growlmon, Jenrya's D-Arc corrected him – glared with open hate at them. Gone were the sweet clumsiness and the innocence. His hide rippled with powerful muscles underneath, just raw strength and instinct and whatever else now fueled him.

"Growlmon!" Jenrya found himself shouting desperately over the rain. "It's us!"

Black Growlmon sneered, fangs bared. "I know who you are," loathing colored his voice. "You're responsible for everything!"

With that, he sucked in a deep breath, sounding like a hundred bellows going at once, and then whipped his head toward them in a broad arc.

"_Exhaust Flame_!"

White fire sprayed out. Jenrya and Ryo were forced to throw themselves at the ground. Terriermon scuttled under the attack as it hit the pavement behind them. Steam hissed as the Rookie placed himself between the two humans and his friend.

"Stop it, Growlmon! What do you think you're doing?"

"It's your fault!" Black Growlmon roared. "You're all hurting us!"

"We didn't do anything!"

"You're after _him_!"

"We just want to help, Growlmon!"

"I'll kill you before you'll ever get close to him!" the virus Champion spat. Terriermon's words hadn't even reached him. Black Growlmon sucked in another breath and started to let loose another flamethrower burst of his Exhaust Flame.

"Digi-Modify! War Greymon's Brave Shield, _activate_!"

Terriermon nearly stumbled from the unexpected weight of the huge shield appearing in his paws after Jenrya's quick card slash, but he kept it upright as the Rookie braced for impact. The shield shook under Black Growlmon's attack: it rattled so violently under its strength Terriermon could feel his paws going numb from the vibration. It was all he could do to keep it from being forced over his head and crushing the two humans behind him.

The white fire lapped hungrily around the Brave Shield. Already the edges glowed red from the heat, curling inward as it began to melt the shield.

Jenrya and Ryo knelt behind the cover, Ryo rapidly began picking out any useful cards as Jenrya tried to decide what to do, his heart beating loudly in his chest. He didn't want to fight Black Growlmon if he didn't have to.

Getting killed on the spot wasn't his plan either.

Without warning, there was a thundering explosion off in the distance. A tall cloud of dust rose up in the air – from the end of the tunnel at the other entrance – as something shimmered in the air. Jenrya froze. Even in this light, he could make it out: a cable curving up for moment in the night air like a giant snake, sparking green at the ends where it tore itself free from the ground. Others of various sizes joined it. They dove toward the other entrance and vanished out of sight.

Another series of explosions and more debris rocketed into the air.

Jenrya, Ryo and Terriermon weren't their targets. Someone else was being attacked at the same time.

He didn't have time to wonder who as Terriermon risked a peek around the Brave Shield.

"Jenrya's, he's coming at us!"

Ryo shoved the cards he selected for Jenrya into his hands and dragged him to the side.

"_Plasma Blade_!"

The wicked spike on his forearm glowing red, Black Growlmon slashed at the Brave Shield. It split into two down the center with a resounding _crack_. Terriermon scurried under the larger Digimon's legs as Jenrya choose the blue card Ryo handed him. He really didn't want to do this, but unless they somehow subdued Black Growlmon, they could be killed at this rate.

Jenrya slashed the card. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution, _activate_!"

Green light engulfed Terriermon as he evolved. Black Growlmon, eyes clouded with an increasing berserker rage, spun on his claws and charged at Terriermon, still in mid-evolution.

"Terriermon, behind you!" Jenrya screamed.

His evolution barely finished, Gargomon started to whirl around but he was too slow: Black Growlmon was on the other Champion like a tank and brutally blind-sided him. Caught by surprise, Gargomon flew through the air, skidding several feet and throwing up a splash of puddle water. Snarling, Black Growlmon turned toward the two humans. The white tongues of fire crackled in the rain as the Shadow's jaws started to part.

Backed up against a darkened flower-shop, there was nowhere to run. Ryo glanced about frantically. Left or right, Black Growlmon could easily cut them off no matter which direction they went. The darkened store behind them had a solid brick wall, the only weak point the half-glass door, obviously locked. There wasn't going to be enough time for Jenrya to slash a card or for the downed Gargomon to react.

An idea hit him then._  
_

_ Aw hell, this's going to hurt._

But it was either that or get killed.

Whirling, Ryo drew his fist back and punched with all his might at the glass door. Sharp pain traveled up his arm in a jarring jolt as the glass shattered: only a small hole, the jagged edges of broken glass cut into his arm as he felt about desperately for the handle. His bloodied hand shrieked with pain that told him he'd either fractured something or broken a few fingers. He grabbed the handle, after an agonized second of groping, and turned it.

The door opened and the two boys fell into the dark flower shop's interior.

"_Exhaust Flame_!"

A bright splash of white hit the storefront, but Jenrya and Ryo managed to scramble further inside. Ducking through the aisles of empty vases, plastic plates, ceramic pots and other containers, the two boys ran to the back of the store. Ryo glanced over his shoulder. Jenrya was a silhouette behind him, but the front of the shop had an eerie glow, flickering in the flames. There was no way Black Growlmon could fit inside.

Jenrya couldn't believe what Ryo just did. The Tamer couldn't see this well inside the dark store, but he knew Ryo's hand was in bad shape. Ryo's face, from what he could see of it, was drawn in pain as he knelt near the counter nestled against the back wall. It was almost impossible for the two to see each other's faces clearly. The only way he was positive Ryo was nearby was the sheen of the white fire reflecting faintly off of his face and blood-slicked hand.

"We're safe for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he tears down the store trying to get at us."

Outside, Black Growlmon was railing at them in his fury, his curses blending into a practically incoherent series of roars and snarls. The store shook and plaster trickled down from the ceiling as the Champion threw his shoulder at the store.

"I've got to go back to Gargomon!"

"And how're you going to get to him, Jenrya? What, with your other friend out there waiting to kill you?"

Jenrya glared at Ryo through the darkness. "I can't leave him out there!"

Another guttural roar from the Digimon outside. More plaster fell on their heads.

"You already did, first of all. And second, he's focused on _us_, not Gargomon."

Jenrya started to argue with that but found he couldn't.

"Gargomon's probably safer than we are right now," Ryo said and then hissed as he felt a piercing pain in his hand. Feeling about blindly in the dark, his fingers located something smooth. A shard of glass had imbedded itself half an inch deep in his palm. Gritting his teeth, he removed it with a wince and tossed it onto the tiled floor.

"Now what?"

"We need to find a way out of here before Black Growlmon tears this place down on our heads," Ryo looked about the store, trying to think. "That or try to find a place to hide and hope he goes away. Which probably won't fool him for long, but it could buy time for Gargomon to recover."

More plaster drifted from the ceiling and then stopped as Black Growlmon began to assault the thick bricks with his Exhaust Flame. The center of the storefront began to glow red, then white as searing heat blossomed. Ryo turned back to Jenrya.

"There's no time! I'm gonna look and see if there's another exit or something."

Ryo got up, feeling his way with his uninjured hand along the counter, and vanished through a door in the back wall. After an indecisive moment, Jenrya scooted after him, casting a worried look over his shoulder. It didn't feel right to leave Gargomon out there, no matter how much sense Ryo made. But Jenrya couldn't help him with any backup if he was trapped in this concrete and steel cage.

The taller boy led the way into a backroom, shutting the door after Jenrya. It wouldn't help as a defense once Black Growlmon got through, but it was better than nothing. Ryo managed to find the light switch and flicked it on. They stood in a wide hall, fenced in on two sides by a wall of potted plants in every shape and size. Ignoring the plants, Ryo headed down the hall and tried the heavy door at the end.

Locked.

It didn't mean it was the only exit, however. Jenrya helped Ryo with his search: pushing through the thick fronds of a row of small palm trees to the side, he found another door. It opened into another smaller hall, dusty and looking like it hadn't been used in a long time. Ryo glanced in and nodded.

"Let's try this way."

Standing under the backroom's light, Jenrya caught a glimpse of Ryo's injured hand, swathed in blood. "What about your hand?"

"What about it?" Ryo shrugged. He couldn't hide the pained wince.

Ryo shut the door as they filed into the narrow hall. The only light was a single bulb, dim under a film of grime. Jenrya led the way, turned to the left and out to another door with a fire extinguisher next to it. Jenrya reached out and tried it.

Two things happened then: the door opened to the outside rain. An alarm shrieked as the emergency door opened, bouncing off the walls with a frequency that bordered on ear-splitting. Jenrya's first impulse was to clap his hands over his ears but he pushed the door further open as the alarm's sound spilled out into the alley. Ryo stumbled after him.

"We seriously need to _move_!" Ryo gasped. "Black Growlmon has to have heard this!"

Jenrya nodded and ran down the alley, his shoes splashing into puddles. Ryo followed him, trying to cradle his bloodied mess of a hand to prevent it from jolting too much, but even then his face was white with pain as he ran after the Tamer.

They exited near one of the construction site's side entrance, several yards away from the flower shop's entrance. The two boys slipped past the small fenced-gate into the corner of the lot. Jenrya stopped and knelt. Through one of the rips in the canvas covering the perimeter's fence, he could see the figure of Black Growlmon glaring angrily about for the source of the alarms wailing through the rain.

The Champion took a confused step toward the alley. And then another and another as he pinpointed where the alarm came from._  
_

_ Doesn't look like he's seen us._

That was a relief. Jenrya tried to find his partner through the hole torn in the canvas. Several parts of the ground were still on fire, the colorless flames twisting and crackling merrily in the rain. Steam drifted up into the night as the fire-pits evaporated the water. The flower shop's storefront was almost completely destroyed; the entire brick portion buckled inward and the center looked nothing more than melted slag. It was barely standing. Jenrya continued to scan the area.

His heart quickened as he caught sight of Gargomon. His partner unsteadily forced himself to his feet from where he stopped sliding due to running into a trash can. Despite the surprise attack, the gun-bunny looked like he was still able to fight.

"Is he okay?" Ryo whispered.

"Yeah. I wish I could get his attention," Jenrya whispered back. On the other side of the tunnel, he caught a glimpse of another flurry of cables. A burst of thin, thread-like beams of scarlet energy lanced out into the air, followed by another discharge of hissing red light that sliced at the coils, as if it was some sort of deadly laser show. An explosion ripped through the night.

Just what was going on over there?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was precisely because Ruki ran late she'd heard the sounds of a battle starting on the other side of the tunnel.

She and Alice arrived at their destination a few minutes late. Even before they came into sight of the tunnel, the sounds of an inhuman roar drifted over toward them from beyond the entrance, along with flares of white light (fire?) flashing up in the distance. She had Renamon digivolve into Kyuubimon. Ruki's quick thinking paid off when they themselves fell under attack.

It was only block from the tunnel's entrance when the coils appeared. Hundreds of them burst from the ground, throwing up chunks of pavement and sparking with electricity as they rose up through the rain in a large writhing mass. Dobermon stopped in his tracks with a growl, Alice looking up with alarm.

The wires – some looked like the huge electrical cables running underground, others so small they looked like they'd been ripped from a payphone – encircled them, blocking off their retreat. Ruki could feel her partner's hackles rising in response. Aside from the scrapping and rustling whenever the cables brushed against one another, the mass was silent._  
_

_ So this's what Jenrya said attacked Ryo_, Ruki realized. She could feel the tense energy in her partner's body and her fingers tightened in response. These…_things_ were more than likely hostile: her Digimon knew this as well as she did. At the first sign of movement, Kyuubimon was ready to lunge into any direction.

For a long second, the coils only hovered in the air, weaving and curling like giant snakes entwined.

Without warning, they struck.

Ruki held on tightly to her partner as Kyuubimon leaped straight up into the air. Several of the cables smashed into their former position and tore through the concrete as if it were only made of tissue, half-tunneling through it as they double-backed around for another pass. Kyuubimon evaded the next mass of cables spiraling in from their left: they ploughed into the wall behind her, demolishing it into rubble. From above came another wire-cluster in a corkscrew.

It was all Ruki could do to keep from falling off Kyuubimon, much less slash a card.

Ruki managed to catch a glimpse of Alice and Dobermon. They dodged the lightning-fast strikes from their silent attackers as best they could. When the thickest of the cable-bunches dove at them, Dobermon bounded up on top of the writhing mass, running along the surface in order to get closer to Kyuubimon and Ruki. In response, the mass dissolved into individual wires and dropped Dobermon back onto the ground. He narrowly managed to escape the thinnest cables that tried to wrap around his paws and trip him.

"Ruki, I can't keep running forever!" Kyuubimon leaped backward as a coil with the width of a telephone pole hammered at where she'd been only a second before. The pavement crumpled under the sheer force. The large cable wormed away as another attacked from their right, forcing Ruki to duck.

"I know! Show this thing what you can do!"

Kyuubimon spun in a quick circle, her tails rising. "_Fox Tail Inferno!"_

The nearest of the attackers fell back, several in ghostly blue flames as exposed insulation caught on fire. The smaller ones hit fell to the ground and twitched, unable to function and respond to the main force. But there were still more tendrils coming from all directions: another salvo and then Kyuubimon was forced to run again. She streaked toward Dobermon.

"_Schwarz Strahl_!" The red energy beams spread from Dobermon's spiked collar and struck down several of the wires. They tumbled to the ground in neatly cut pieces, ends cauterized.

"_Fox Tail Inferno_!"

"_Schwarz Strahl_!"

For a few brief minutes, Dobermon and Kyuubimon were on the offensive, aggressively firing attack after attack on whatever writhed closest to them through the rain. But it seemed like the more they rendered immobile, the more that simply rose to replace them. The largest of the cables undulated in the air, sparking green as they twisted into a mass and dissolved just as easily into separate wires that would shoot off from the main clusters and come at them from any angle.  
_  
We can't keep this up_! Kyuubimon was capable – Ruki knew that – but these things weren't tiring. Whatever was behind the wheel had way more stamina then either Kyuubimon or Dobermon. Soon they were back where they started: running. And if this kept up, they wouldn't be able to even do that.

The problem was there was too much open space, a part of Ruki's mind reflected, detached and analytical even as the rest of her focused on staying on her partner and barking warnings. The open air meant these things – whatever they were – had plenty of room to maneuver. If Alice and Ruki wanted to have any hope for a defense, they needed some sort of advantage…

The tunnel.

Of course! These things couldn't possibly maneuver very good in that cramped of a space. So long as they had several sides protected by the tunnel, Ruki was confident they could hold these things off with far less effort then it took just to evade them, as Kyuubimon and Dobermon were doing now.

"Alice!" Ruki called and bit back a startled curse as one of the wires got close enough to tear at her jeans before Kyuubimon danced away. "Head for the tunnel!"

The foreigner nodded. Dobermon zigzagged through the deadly maze of living cables and wires with Kyuubimon not far behind. The coils surged and thrust at them along the way. Alice had already managed to reach the tunnel and Dobermon was fending off the serpentine attackers trying to come in after him. Ruki risked a glance around on all sides, forming an ever-changing net that turned and jetted forward ahead of her in order to cut Kyuubimon off from Dobermon.  
_  
We're not going to make it_, Ruki realized. It was as if someone dumped cold water on her.

Whatever they were fighting reacting like it calculated this: what better way to separate them? Tire them out enough and then pick them off at its own leisure. Whatever they were fighting, it didn't feel any of their retaliations. Kyuubimon raced toward the red glow of the tunnel's entrance but Ruki could see the cables shooting past them were going to beat them there, no matter how fast she ran or how hard she pushed herself for that extra second.

Ruki only focused on what was happening before her. She didn't see the wires coming at her from behind.

Alice did, however. She made a quick decision then: she couldn't afford to lose Ruki Makino and if they needed to resort to desperate measures, then so be it.

"Do it. 'Stromstärke'."

Dobermon nodded. Bracing all four paws and making sure he was grounded properly, the dark Digimon began to unleash the inner seals on the generator plugged into his furred flesh through his spiked collar. It thrummed on, rising in pitch as the spikes protruding out from his collar began to vibrate. The air around Dobermon and Alice shimmered as the hum increased. The nearest wires that crept too close to the distorted air convulsed and then flopped onto the ground, inactive.

"_E-Pulse Stromstärke_!" Dobermon released the generator's final seal.

The distorted area around them spurted out in a powerful sphere with an echoing _boom_. It rocked through the wires and continued to spread outward, the air shimmering as the EMP blast shot out in an ever-widening arc. The cables and wires shuddered under the wave, floundered and fell with clatters to the pavement upon contact. The E-Pulse Stromstärke reached Kyuubimon and Ruki.

At the contact with the Stromstärke, Kyuubimon abruptly staggered and veered off to the side, disoriented as the closest thing to nausea and dizziness assaulted the Champion. Her legs gave out under her as they refused to obey her orders. It was all Kyuubimon could do to fall in such a way that she wouldn't pin her Tamer under her. Ruki hit the ground and rolled off as her Digimon collapsed out from under her.

The wave's mirage-air continued to expand outward and cut down all the cables in the area. Within a few seconds of the release of the E-Pulse, the battleground fell quiet as the last of the cables tumbled down, lifeless. The entrance to the tunnel and the grounds outside it were littered with the fallen wires, draped motionless across the sidewalk, the railings lining the street, and wherever the wires had succumbed to the Stromstärke's effective range. Silence.

Ruki picked herself up, the new scrapes on her arms raw and stinging in the night air. Even with the rain's water on the ground, she'd still gotten banged up from her fall off Kyuubimon.

"Are you alright?" Kyuubimon asked shakily.

Ruki glanced at her partner. "You should be asking yourself that."

Her snout wrinkled in open confusion. "I…I don't know what happened to me."

"I'm sorry we had to do that to you," Alice said, stepping over the still forms of the cables. Dobermon followed his partner. He looked drained, canine head bowed with weariness. "But it was necessary."

Ruki stared at her, torn between anger and bewilderment. "Just what did you do?"

"We used a modified EMP," Alice replied. "It's not something we use often, since the Tümmler generator will effect whatever is near it, not just the enemy."

"So what happened to Kyuubimon was…?"

"From the E-Pulse Stromstärke," Alice finished for her calmly. "It affects Digimon because of their data."

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Ruki demanded.

"There wasn't a need. I didn't think we'd have to use it."

Ruki threw up her hands, annoyed. There was no point in arguing at this time though. She glanced over at her partner. Despite the tumble, Kyuubimon looked like she was recovering fast. She shook off the last remains of dizziness, looking down her snout at the two humans.

"How long will this effect last?" Kyuubimon gave the fallen wires a pointed look.

"I don't know. We've never used it against anything like this."

"Then let's not press our luck," Kyuubimon said. "Jenrya should've been here by now."

"That battle we heard…?" Dobermon rasped: his voice was hoarse, as if he was recovering from some sort of sickness. He was about to say something else, but Alice stopped him, laying a hand on his black nose.

"Jenrya could've been in that battle. He might've been ambushed like we were," Ruki lifted herself back onto Kyuubimon's back. "I'm going to the other end. If he did get attacked, he's probably needs our help."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya forgot something important.

When Ryo and he managed to escape from the flower-shop, and found hiding in the construction lot, he thought that they were going to be safe. He assumed that just because Black Growlmon couldn't see them, that meant he couldn't find them. Somehow he'd forgot all about Black Growlmon's powerful sense of smell.

_ You're an idiot_, Jenrya told himself, biting his lip nervously. Even the fires and constant rain probably weren't enough to mask their presence. Not only did the Champion know _his_ scent by heart, he had to be able to smell the fresh blood from Ryo's injury, whether he recognized the human or not. _Now what?_

Black Growlmon returned from the alley. Lifting his wedge-shaped snout, he tasted the air, giving an experimental sniff. His nostrils flared. Jenrya froze.

"_Gargo Laser_!"

A burst of shots enveloped the virus-Digimon in a cloud. Distracted and further infuriated, Black Growlmon whipped about, acid-yellow eyes fixing wildly on his attacker. Gargomon faced him, the barrels of his guns fixed on the other Champion. Black Growlmon let out a jet of fire from his snout, snorting as he prepared to attack. Jenrya hurriedly went for one of his cards: he wasn't going to let Gargomon fight without help.

Black Growlmon was already barreling at the gun-bunny as Jenrya slashed his card.

"Digi-Modify! High Speed Plug-In B, _activate_!"

Hearing Jenrya's voice, the Shadow suddenly switched directions and turned toward the construction site. Jumping to his feet, Ryo started to push Jenrya toward the ladder leading up to the second floor of the unfinished office building, but Black Growlmon never made it to the site. He found Gargomon abruptly blocking the way.

"I don't know what happened, but you _have_ to listen to us!" Gargomon pleaded. Despite the fact he had his guns aimed at his friend again, he didn't look like he wanted to shoot. "Tell us what's wrong!"

"You're alive!" Black Growlmon hissed. "You're making it hurt!"

"Then tell us how we can help! We don't want to hurt you!"

"You always did! You lied to me, you lied to _him_! You never wanted us!" Black Growlmon's voice rose as he spoke to a rage-filled shout. "But he told me the truth! You're all a disease! We have to flush you out like the disease you all are."

"I'm your friend!" Gargomon answered plaintively

Black Growlmon wasn't listening anymore. He shook his head from side to side, snarling in pain at something neither Gargomon, Jenrya or Ryo could see. His yellow eyes rolled, the slits of his pupils dilating and contracting as he grew more and more distressed.

"You're all a disease!" Black Growlmon cried. "I have to flush an infection from a wound before it spreads. You want to infect him, make him hurt even more! I have to flush you all out!"

"Growlmon - !"

Black Growlmon bared his fangs and swung at Gargomon with his glowing arm blades. "_Plasma Blade_!"

His agility improved from Jenrya's card slash, Gargomon was able to dodge the attack easily enough and zipped to the side. Black Growlmon slashed at him again, only to have the other Champion dodge that strike as well with the same ease. But Gargomon didn't attack. A crafty expression crossed Black Growlmon's features then and was gone as he watched the other Digimon with his golden eyes. He feinted like he was making a third attempt with his Plasma Blades and Gargomon started to dodge…

And found himself caught in the viselike grip of Black Growlmon's claws. He squirmed frantically, trying to kick free, but his friend's claws might as well have been made of iron. Black Growlmon loomed over the smaller Champion, his snake's eyes looking for a vital spot to plunge his fangs into.

"No! Gargomon!"

"Jenrya, stop!"

Jenrya pushed Ryo forcefully aside. Ryo tried to grab at his jacket but missed, getting only air as the Tamer ran toward the two Digimon locked together. Gargomon had raised his gun-sights so they rested against his opponent's chest. Despite the fact he was at point-blank range, he didn't fire. Finding what he was looking for, Black Growlmon went for the kill, jaws wide as he bent to tear at his prey's neck.

He didn't make it.

Ryo had run out after Jenrya the moment the other boy broke his cover. For a split second, running after the Tamer and unable to keep up with the other's breakneck speed, he thought he saw a distortion in the air, the falling rain shimmering and warping like a giant mirage. _What the - ?_ Next thing he knew, the wave was right on top of them.

Ryo collapsed to his knees as his vision suddenly blacked out for a second. He went completely blind for that long moment as he lost all sense of where he was. Time and space disappeared.

The swirling star-spots before his eyes faded and he looked up, still light-headed.

Ryo wasn't sure if it he was seeing things because of his brief blackout, but _something_ happened since that weird wave hit them. Jenrya had pulled to a stop in his reckless race to get to his partner, now unsure of what to do as a bizarre scene unfolded before him.

Gargomon and Black Growlmon had separated. Gargomon lay stunned and thoroughly winded on his back, after a few seconds moving sluggishly to get into a sitting position. Something had knocked him flat on his back but other than that, he looked fine, and, most importantly, alive. The fatal bite Jenrya feared he'd see on his partner's neck was missing.

Black Growlmon hadn't been floored like Gargomon had, but he was weaving about as he was drunk. The Champion stumbled and a low keening sound escaped from him that sounded more pitiful than threatening. For several seconds his hide began to flicker, the scales glinting back to the familiar red. It wavered between alternations of red and black as Black Growlmong staggered away from them into the gloom, head bobbing erratically from side to side.

Jenrya almost ran after Black Growlmon before he vanished, but the sight of both Ryo and Gargomon sprawled on the ground brought him up short. When he looked over his shoulder again, Black Growlmon was gone.

He finished looking Gargomon over and was relieved to find that he was fine, if not a bit shaken. Ryo was still on his knees when Jenrya came over to check up on him.

"You okay?"

Ryo rubbed at his head with his good hand. "I guess."

"What happened?"

"No idea," Ryo brought his hand down, brushing rain from the faint line of a healed scar under his eye. Kneeling this close to the other boy, Jenrya was vaguely surprised he hadn't ever noticed it before. "I was trying to run after you to stop you and I dunno. I just blanked out."

Jenrya glanced at Gargomon. His partner had described something similar. "You blanked out?"

"Yeah. It was like passing for a second."

"So you passed out?"

Ryo was irritable as he tried to brush his wet hair from his eyes. "No, I didn't. I was okay when I went after you. Something hit us and that's why I blanked out."

"I didn't see anything. How come I wasn't affected?"

"Beats me. You're asking the wrong person."

About to add more, Ryo swayed unsteadily. Jenrya reached out and caught him before he toppled over into one of the puddles lining the street. Ryo pushed away from Jenrya with a grimace.

"I'm okay. I'm just light-headed," Ryo muttered.

Ruki, Kyuubimon, Alice and Dobermon finally arrived then. Ruki stared, taken aback just as much as her partner. It was like some sort of war-zone: clusters of white fire burned in spots on the pavement, too hot to be dowsed by the steady rain. Clouds of thick steam curled into the night. Her eyes went from the half-destroyed storefront to the melted halves of a Brave Shield lying on the ground to the soggy group huddled in front of her.

Jenrya looked up as the two Digimon and their riders approached. Getting to his feet and helping Ryo do the same, he felt relief surge through him, although there was the beginnings of anger. They came too late. But he was glad to see they at least made it in one piece. Gargomon stood behind his Tamer as Jenrya noticed the new girl with Ruki._  
_

_ She looks like a doll_. Her blonde hair was pulled into twin pig-tails, drooping now under the rainwater, her already pale skin looking white in the downpour. Clothed from head to toe in all black, the new Tamer bore an expression that looked to be closer to cold indifference than anything else. Her blue eyes passed passively from him, to Gargomon and then on to Ryo.

Without bothering to even discuss it, the group relocated to the relative dryness of the tunnel. Red light bathed them as they tried to figure out what happened. Ryo hovered just beyond Gargomon, his black eyes on Alice with barely veiled distrust as Ruki related what happened on their end that stopped them from coming to help earlier. She started to describe the EMP blast when Gargomon interrupted her:

"Wait, so that's what knocked us over?"

Alice nodded. "Again, I apologize. The generator wasn't built to tell the difference between an enemy and a friend."

Ryo only made a sardonic snort at this. He wasn't happy with getting knocked on his ass, nor was he having fun nursing the headache he had as a souvenir. Jenrya blinked, recognizing the description of Ruki's attackers.

"That sounds exactly what we fought last time," Jenrya frowned.

"I know," Ruki paused. Might as well get the introductions over with. "Jenrya, Alice McCoy and Dobermon.

Jenrya offered an uncertain nod. Gargomon gave a little wave.

"Jenrya Lee, his partner Gargomon and Ryo Akiyama."

Alice's eyebrow rose at the mention of the last name, the first sign of actual emotion since they met outside in the rain. She now turned her blue eyes on Ryo curiously. Ryo scowled in return. He couldn't help but feel unease at that silent stare. It felt like she was trying to see through him. He wished she'd stop looking at him like that.

"Ryo Akiyama…?" Alice tilted her head. "I thought you died."

"You thought wrong," Ryo retorted tersely. Between the headache and the screwed-up hand, he really wasn't in the mood for this.

Alice started to say something, but thought better of it, instead asking, "Where's Takato Matsuda and his partner?"

Everyone assembled stared at her. Jenrya looked away, face flushing. Ruki's features darkened as Gargomon shuffled his feet, Kyuubimon's expression unreadable. No one else spoke as Alice gazed at them. Their uneasiness only increased. Jenrya sighed. _Someone_ was going to have to say something

"We don't know where Takato is. He vanished a week ago," Jenrya tried to keep his voice level. He wasn't sure how much he succeeded. "And for Guilmon…"

He couldn't finish as the events of the night came rushing back and the depth of tonight hit him. Ryo picked it up for him, his voice flat as he began to explain what happened at their end of the tunnel.

"Black Growlmon was here right before you guys rolled in. He had a nice little reception waiting. Tried to kill us and delete Gargomon and everything," Ryo said. His voice was strained as another throb of pain bubbled up from his broken fingers. Ryo was really starting to regret breaking that window. "He probably evolved from Takato's Guilmon, unless there's other Guilmons running around."

Ruki shook her heard. "No, there's only one. Why would he try to kill you?"

"'Black' Growlmon? That's not a normal evolution," Alice said quietly.

Ryo glanced at Jenrya, and then continued. "I know it's not. But something happened to him. Or to Takato. If the bond between them is strong, what happens to one will translate to the other." He knew _that_ all too well. "All I know is Black Growlmon was saying some weird stuff, like we were all a disease and that he had to kill us so he'd be better."

Ruki actually paled at this. Could Ryo be lying? But Jenrya only gave a little nod at his words.

"It's true," Jenrya said. "He kept saying we were hurting them and that he wasn't going to let us get close to 'him'."

"We didn't do anything!" Gargomon cut in. "I tried to get Black Growlmon to stop, but he wouldn't listen to me!"

"Then we have a problem on our hands," Kyuubimon replied. Her eyes met everyone else's. The Champion's voice was calm and carefully controlled. "We may have to be prepared to face him in the future. Fight him if need be."

"Kyuubimon has a point. I don't like it either, but we _do_ have to defend ourselves. We can't try to find out what's wrong if we don't," Ruki crossed her arms. Next to her, Alice appeared to be deep in thought, turning this news over. "Obviously Black Growlmon was talking about Takato when he was going on about a 'he'. So whatever happened is related to everything that's going on now."

"Nothing's changed. We still don't know anything," Jenrya sighed.

For a minute, everyone fell silent, avoiding each other's eyes, with the exception of Alice. She gazed at everyone in turn, Digimon and human alike as she measured them up. Her next question was out of the blue:

"What happened to your hand?"

Ryo glanced down at it. It was still bleeding and he was half-glad of that, because due to the mask of blood he couldn't see how bad the injury was. Not that he couldn't feel it – it hurt like hell - but at least he didn't have to see it. It was bad enough he could already see that some of the fingers were twisted at an unnatural angle, remaining limp and motionless whenever his hand moved.

"It happened during the fight with Black Growlmon," Ryo answered, not sure why Alice would care. The way she kept looking at him creeped him out. "Had to punch out a window so we wouldn't get killed."

"We've got to get it treated. You can't go running around bleeding all over the place like that," Jenrya said guiltily. He'd almost forgotten about Ryo's hand.

"It's not like I'm bleeding to death," Ryo rolled his eyes. "Look, it's already starting to stop."

Jenrya stared at him and then almost smiled, as if Ryo said something funny. "You can't leave it like that, Ryo," he turned to Alice and Ruki. "I'll take him to the emergency room. You guys are coming, right?"

Ruki nodded.

"Yeah. I don't want to have to arrange another meeting and have that one crashed too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
_  
Jenrya wasn't pleased. _

_ Takato could feel it even before his friend arrived. He had backed himself into one of the walls as if he could protect himself from Jenrya, trying to make himself appear as small as possible. When Jenrya suddenly appeared and strode purposefully toward him, those claws clenching and unclenching, Takato flinched expectantly. _

** You didn't finish them off. **

_ Takato shrank under Jenrya's alien eyes. _I tried, I really did!_ He was whimpering. _I tried to make Black Growlmon kill them, I really did. I tried for you.

_ Jenrya didn't blink, _**Then why are they not eliminated?**_  
_

_ Takato shook his head frantically. He didn't know! Couldn't know! Black Growlmon had been doing great up to the point where he had one of the enemies in a fatal hold and was about to tear his throat out. But Takato didn't know what happened after that, it wasn't his fault, he suddenly had control jarred from him and Black Growlmon wasn't listening to him then. It wasn't his fault, Takato repeatedly softly and tried to press his back further into the white wall._

_ Jenrya suddenly reached out and caged Takato in with his arms. His gently curving claws rested on the spotless wall on either side of Takato's heads, the sleeves of his loose black shirt falling back slightly to reveal that the dark growth of his claws had extended up to his forearms now since the last time he'd come into the little hideaway.  
_

_ Jenrya leaned close to the trapped Will. _

** You won't fail again**_, Jenrya said coolly. It wasn't a question, but a fact. His face was only mere inches away from Takato's, his silver-within-black eyes narrowed slightly. The expression softened slightly, _**We were hit by some type of electromagnetic pulse. They disabled my control in that area briefly. Because you didn't have a stronger control over your Digimon, it momentarily cut him off from you.**_  
_

_ Takato rested against the wall limply, head hanging. He'd really tried for Jenrya. _

** I know you did. But trying is not enough. **_  
_

_Takato wilted between the bars formed by Jenrya's arms. He had done his best, he lowered his glazed red eyes. Even when the waves of pain assaulted him when Jenrya took the brunt of the attacks from those two female-enemies, he had managed to hold onto his link with Black Growlmon. _

_ Jenrya didn't move away, his close proximity like a looming shadow that Takato both feared and adored. He wanted to desperately please his friend, make him smile like he had when they talked after the chaos when Takato broke. Jenrya could easily throw him away like discarded trash, leave him like everyone else. But Jenrya was still his friend, still capable of something aside from eating and killing._

_And now Jenrya was so close to him Takato could feel his absent breath on his cheek. Jenrya didn't breath, had stopped breathing long ago. Takato shuddered._

_ Jenrya released him, straightening as his clawed arms dropped to his sides. _

** Locate your Digimon. Make sure he was not damaged significantly from the electromagnetic pulse**_, Jenrya said and turned away. Takato nodded numbly. Jenrya wasn't pleased with him, but he could see his friend wasn't going to abandon him. A mixture of guilt and relief. _**The next time I let you help me, I want you to be able to keep control no matter what.**_  
_

_ Takato nodded again, eyes lowered in shame. He would try harder, as much as it took._

** Don't disappoint me again like this, Takato.**  
_  
He shrank inwardly, unable to summon up a response. Jenrya left him then, fading out as he withdrew from the room as silently as before. Takato was left alone to try to figure out just what he could do the next time. _

It hadn't been difficult to portray the illusion of disappointment and mild-betrayal for the Juggernaut. Each interaction with the Will and his Digimon made it easier and easier to master the tricky illusions of emotions. The Juggernaut was incapable of feeling angry anyway. Its calculations simply failed to have enough information, hence the errors. Even superior machines like itself were prone to make mistakes if there wasn't enough data.

The battle with these humans supplied that data. The supercomputer hadn't known Alice McCoy had with her an EMP generator. While the Juggernaut was fully capable of driving off humans and Digimon alike, it was devices like that which might make it troublesome. The Juggernaut thought it had disposed of all such devices in the area, knowing full well a blast from one would leave it – in a manner of speaking – 'stunned' with a hole in its defenses.

Apparently one bypassed its notice.

The Juggernaut would analyze the battle data and see to it precautions were taken. The sentient machine knew it was feasible to calculate the strength of the EMP used against it and to improve itself.

It would have to evolve further to be stronger in response to this threat.

It would be better prepared next time.

By the next contact with these targets, the Juggernaut wouldn't be as easily driven back by a simple electromagnetic pulse as it had been tonight. By then, the Will would be in better control of his own facilities. Black Growlmon was a valuable asset: the Juggernaut intended to keep the Digimon that way. Black Growlmon would have to withstand any further EMP blasts and becoming stronger against it as well if he was to be of any use.

Unperturbed by tonight's failure, the Juggernaut set to work on its nightly duties, absorbing the constant energy from the incoming Golems and running calculations on its new improvements. Finally locating Black Growlmon wandering, lost, in the darkness of a dead-end street, it called him back with deceptively gentle words, Takato's voice promising another chance. As the virus-Digimon responded favorably to the Juggernaut, the Will began to assert its tendrils of control across the bond. The flickering of red on the Digimon's hide settled comfortably back into the normal shade of black.

They would strike again, naturally. It could afford to wait a day, or a week. Either way, it would finish what it started.

It was only a matter of time and it had plenty.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yamaki was distracted. No matter what Reika did, what tricks she pulled to try to make him relax, he was still taut with tension. The model frowned at the rumpled sheets of their bed. They didn't volunteer any answers. Reika rolled onto her side, listening to the running water of the shower. This was certainly out of their normal routine and she had to wonder what it meant.

Instead of going to sleep after their business, Yamaki had forced himself out of bed. Reika looked up, startled.

"What're you doing?"

"Shower," was all Yamaki would say and he padded off naked into the bathroom and shut the door.

Yamaki had never shown any interest in getting up after they finished; much less in actually taking a shower, just like that. Reika tried to figure this strange new development out. Something bothering him more than usual. That much was obvious. And dammit, now she _knew_ she wasn't going to get any sleep if Yamaki wasn't. She was too curious. _Is it because of Nagamora's blockade?_ No, something more. He'd been able to get satisfied those previous nights.

The water ran for about ten minutes, shushing quietly behind the closed door of the bathroom across from their bed. Reika stretched her long legs languidly, listening to the shower. She was tired physically – like her work, she took bed matters seriously and applied herself as much as she could in both – but her mind wasn't ready to turn in just yet.

A few minutes later, Yamaki stepped out. Her boss toweled his hair dry as he began going through his closet and pulling out some loose clothing. Reika sat up.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked, knowing full well the answer.

Yamaki dressed himself quickly. He pulled on the blue shirt he'd tossed on the end of the bed and kicked the towel back into the bathroom. "No. I've some work to do. Go back to bed."

"I'm already in bed," Reika said dryly.

"Then go to sleep," Yamaki answered just as dryly. "That's what the bed's for."

"Look, enough. I'm also one of your employees. If it's work, then I should be helping you."

Yamaki shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He left the bedroom and went into the small living room of his apartment without another word. Reika groped about for the slip she left lying on the bed-stand and, finding it, shrugged into it. As an afterthought, she went through Yamaki's closet and borrowed one of his oversized shirts. The red material fell to her waist. Feeling less cold, she padded after her boss. To her utter lack of surprise, Yamaki was smoking again. His lighter stood upright on the coffee-table he hunched over.

Reika leaned over the couch behind Yamaki. He had brought his laptop from his personal office, open now with an array of windows. For the first minute or so, Yamaki alternated and tampered with each one with such speed that she had difficulty following him. But eventually he stopped, leaning back with a defeated grunt around the cigarette between his lips.

"What's this?" Reika asked.

"An e-mail I got a few days ago. I thought it would make sense once it was translated from English to Japanese," Yamaki let a frustrated curl of smoke. "But even in Japanese, it doesn't make much more sense."

"_'Your savior is the harbinger of the digital apocalypse.'_" Reika read off the screen from over his shoulder. "And I'm guessing the rest are names?"

"Yeah. Some of them I realized later I recognized: for example, Janyuu Lee is listed. I know for a fact his son is running around with one of those…_things_," Yamaki scowled. It was stupid of him to let these children make the same mistakes as the others had. As Junko had. He still didn't know why he didn't delete their Digimon and save them from themselves. "But I also know he was involved in a project that helped the Digimon too."

Reika nodded. She knew about that as well: they weren't classified cases in Hypnos. It was fairly public to anyone working there.

"So what about the others?"

"Rob McCoy is another one. I should've recognize him earlier. A few of the others I know too. But there's several that I don't."

"These are coordinates?"

"More than likely. I haven't had a chance to get the satellite feed with its location yet."

"And that line?"

"I honestly don't know what the hell it means," Yamaki said angrily. "I've been trying to figure it out all day."

Reika, seeing that Yamaki was planning on staying up, went over to the kitchen and set a pot of coffee dripping before she returned to sit next to her boss on the couch. Reika reread the line again and then one more time as she turned it over carefully, trying to examine it from all sides. The only defense she knew against a "digital" threat was Hypnos, of course. Yamaki probably already figured this out. _The main problem isn't the last part of the line_, she thought, frowning. She stared hard at the innocent characters on the laptop's screen.

"Obviously they're referring to us in the last part," Reika mused aloud. "Even if we're protecting the Real World, it could still apply to Hypnos."

Yamaki's cigarette glowed red at the end. "I thought of that. But we're not doing anything that could help the Wild Ones."

"Well, what about this part?" Reika pointed at the words 'savior' and 'harbinger' on the e-mail. "Let's just assume they mean Hypnos. So then it's probably not Hypnos itself, but something within it that's 'harbinger'. It's something we think's our 'savior'."

Yamaki nodded. "Go on."

Reika paused. She hadn't really thought that far, but she continued to plough ahead, going out on a limb as she continued to try to figure out the line. She found her cheeks were burning slightly at Yamaki's attention and hastily fixed her attention on the screen, wondering why she was acting like a schoolgirl.

"Well, I don't know. I mean, it could be anything within Hypnos. It could be a computer program, or a virus, or even one of us," she stopped. An idea hit her as she thought about the last thing she'd said. "What about Kincaid?"

"She's hardly a prominent figure. I don't see how she could bring Hypnos down. She's barely got enough security clearance to even go up to the upper offices."

"Then what about Nagamora?"

That brought Yamaki up short. His cigarette hanging loosely between his lips, he leaned over toward the laptop and summoned up another window, fingers flying. Reika watched with growing interest.

"Don't tell me you're going to hack into his private networks."

Yamaki flicked a look at her that bordered on boyish. "I already did."

"What? When?" Reika exclaimed. She barely heard the beep of the coffee machine.

"This evening before we left work. I also ran a background check on Kincaid too, but I haven't had time to go over the information yet."

Reika suppressed the tempting urge to sigh. How could he get into those networks so quickly? But then again, why was she even surprised in the first place? Sometimes it was easy to forget Yamaki was capable at other things than being a taskmaster to all his underlings. More than capable, even: after all, he'd been the one who designed the foundation programs that Hypnos relied on.

The coffee machine beeped again insistently. Yamaki hurriedly got up and came back with two cups of black coffee, faint steam still rising from them. He handed one to Reika before sitting down again in front of the laptop. "The background check on Kincaid's done. You wanted to see it?"

"Sure," Reika leaned forward with him to get a closer look. She was surprised Yamaki wasn't getting sarcastic at her as he usually did. But she wasn't complaining since she was starting to enjoy trying to solve this problem and she didn't mind he was just as interested in it as she was. "Aren't you worried they're going to trace you?"

"It doesn't matter if they know or not. Here's what I got."

The two adults focused on the information filtering across the screen from the networks:

_ Name_: Kincaid Donovan  
_ Sex_: Female  
_ ID_ _Number_: 929-83-2324A  
_ Nationality_: American  
_ Place of Birth_: Phoenix (SC), California, USA  
_ Age_: 28  
_ Status_: Alive  
_ Species_: Human  
_ Parents_: Scott Donovan, Sarah Montalbane (deceased)  
_ Next Relative_: Martin Montalbane (uncle)  
_ Threat Level_: Low  
_ Current Residence_: Shinjuku, Tokyo, JP  
_ Current Employment_: Classified  
_ Current Employment (Access Granted)_: Level-B Technician, Hypnos

Additional information (Access Granted_)_: _Donovan, Kincaid. Graduated from __University__ of __California__, __Berkley__ after transferring from __University__ of __California__, __Phoenix__ after her first year. Worked for five months for the FBI (__United States__ Federal Bureau of Investigation) after being admitted, was eventually dropped due to inability to perform to standards after. Transferred to __Japan__ and applied for a technician-level job at Hypnos (Monitors Activity in Digital World, Public Protection). Was admitted as her performance with the necessary equipment was up to standards. Given clearance by Yamaki Mitsuo (Link to Profile) to oversee the completion of the (Access Granted) JUGGERNAUT Project (Link to Profile). Work nearly finished on the Juggernaut until unforeseen difficulties resulted in the Project's temporary shutdown._

Yamaki sat back, unsure if he was supposed to feel defeated or not. This profile wasn't much different than the official version, aside from where he'd gotten the access granted at the classified parts, which only led to information he already knew. On the other hand, something bugging him about this profile. Something was definitely off, but he wasn't sure what. He scanned it again.

"It seems too clean," Reika said. She took a sip of her coffee.

"I was thinking the same thing," Yamaki eyed the first part of the profile. "Everything looks in order. And I'm certain she _is_ American, so she's where she says she comes from."

Reika stared hard again at the innocent profile. _American…?_ Something about it wasn't right and she found herself staring more and more at one line. "What's SC mean?"

"State capital."

"…What's California's state capital?"

Yamaki looked it up. His face darkened as he caught what Reika started to suspect.

"Sacramento."

Her boss was already doing another search before Reika could even bring it up. She watched as he found out that there was no University of California, Phoenix. There wasn't even a city near Sacramento called that. The nearest place was another state over, in Arizona. The "Phoenix" there _was_ the state capital. Yamaki was on a roll. He began investigating just about every bit of information in the profile, checking to see if any of it was false like Kincaid' place of birth and her place of education.

Reika had polished off her coffee and gone back for another when Yamaki finished.

"Whoever tried to make her profile was good: almost else everything matches up. There're records of her being in the FBI, and the people listed as her relatives are real people," Yamaki smiled for the first time all night, an expression bordering on predatory. "Too bad they made that mistake."

"So now we know she's not who she says she is," Reika offered to get Yamaki's mug refilled, but he declined. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet. I thought I'd try to fire her from Hypnos, but it probably wouldn't work, not if she means something to Nagamora. He'll override me. It helps I know she's probably a threat."

Reika set down her cup. "What about Nagamora?"

"I'll look over his information too."

Reika nodded. The computer display said it was nearly midnight and she reminded him that he had to catch some sleep sometime. Yamaki waved her away. Reika remained sitting with him until it was well past two in the morning. She was exhausted when she finally stumbled back into bed, but she couldn't say she hadn't had a good night. It was strange, but tonight had been more satisfying then all the other times.

Yamaki remained in the living room even as Reika turned in for the night. There was just too much he had to do and he knew he couldn't get any sleep until he learned more. The fact that one of his own employees – a woman who really had no reason to have anything wrong with her profile – wasn't who she said she was meant something was wrong.  
_  
Someone's tampered with her profile._ That much was clear. Yamaki stubbed out his cigarette. He somehow doubted now that if he were to meet her so-called relatives, they would know who she was. But meeting them wasn't possible. So now he had a potentially subversive employee on his hands, a woman who appeared harmless enough that it didn't make sense for her to have a tampered profile.

The clock on his wall ticked quietly as he rested his chin, cupped, in one hand.

_ I don't know what to do with her._ She could just be a spy for any one of the other highly classified divisions operating around the globe. If that was the case, he really didn't care if she snuck around or not, although he would make it a priority to relocate anything sensitive away from her reach. Yamaki would only start caring if she went beyond sneaking.

Yamaki opened up another window on the laptop. While he wasn't too sure about Kincaid, he knew for a fact he didn't trust Nagamora. He went through his profile: it was similar to Kincaid's, except the locations had been correct this time. On a whim, Yamaki went back to look at the files from four years ago.

In the darkness of the living room, the flickering of the laptop the only light on his face, Yamaki began to sort through them. Mentions of Digimon being spotted. Vague details about a certain Ataru Nagamora surfacing and then he vanished again only to reappear at the head of an increasingly successful branch. Yamaki already knew about this. Hovering on the edges of his consciousness were the memories from four years ago.

Yamaki closed his eyes, feeling that dull ache. His eyes throbbed with the phantom pains again. He could still see that burst of white that both blinded him and killed his niece. All it took was him to close his eyes and suddenly he could feel himself falling, thrown through a window by the force of the following blast as debris cut his arms open. It got blurry around there.

There had been voices. One belonged to Musyamon. But the other…?

He hadn't ever thought about the other voice before. It hadn't seemed as important as that of the monster.

But now there was something about it that bothered him. It was familiar. The more he tried to recall the words he'd heard then, the more he was convinced he _had_ heard it before and that he did know who it belonged to. Only it was slipping through his fingers now…

"Fuck," Yamaki breathed.

Shaking his head to push away the memories, he focused on his laptop. A new window popped up informing him of two things: that he had a message waiting and that his search for "Ataru Nagamora" on that specific date four years ago came up with one result from what he'd gotten from his hacking into the systems earlier.

The message was from Nagamora himself, stating he wanted to see Yamaki in half an hour and it was imperative he come immediately. Yamaki knew he'd been caught intruding. It wasn't the first time and he hadn't even tried to cover his tracks today. His priority had been to go in, get everything he needed copied and then pull out. Yamaki wrote out a curt response and then clicked on the second window.

It was a brief report, one he hadn't seen before. After the death of his niece, he obsessively looked into everything regarding the incident. He'd thought he'd seen all there was about it. Apparently not. But he had delved deeper than ever before this time, so…

Yamaki read it.

The wording was vague, like the others. Some mentions to some sort of "Council" and then that the "schedule" was proceeding at a desirable rate. The incident with the Musyamon was not a set-back. His eyebrow rose at this. Musyamon had never been mentioned by name in the other reports. Mentioned now was the clean-up of the incident, a cursory description of the sole survivor, and then a few clips of video documentation, each neatly categorized. The report stated all documentation clips had been sent to the "Council" as proof of the successes.

An unreadable expression on Yamaki's face, he opened the first clip. It was only fifteen minutes long, fairly short for this sort of documentation, but with the sound-file missing and without color. The camera followed a man in a suit from behind as they strolled down the street. It looked like a bomb had gone off, scorch marks all over the line of stores farthest away from the blast radius. Those closest were heavily damaged, most with their windows blown out.

The camera followed doggedly, and then stopped, wavered in what might be fear as something emerged from the black smoke curling in the air. The man in the suit said something and the camera steadied unwillingly. Yamaki gripped the sides of the laptop as the shape materialized into a more solid form. He knew that armor, that sloping gray body, that rolling gait.

Musyamon.

It was like Yamaki was reliving his past through the eyes of another. The camera remained at a safe distance, taking a quick pan of all the damage and returning on the suited-man, who was striding forward to meet Musyamon. The Digimon had something in its ham-fists and it took a moment to realize what it was. Yamaki was looking at himself. Musyamon lumbered toward the suited-man dragging Yamaki behind him, who looked like he was barely alive.

The unconscious man looked nothing like him, Yamaki couldn't help but think. Blood caked his arms and face, his blond hair matted in thick black clumps. He didn't even look like he was breathing. The suited man stopped before the two. Musyamon and the man in the business suit talked for a bit and Yamaki desperately wished he'd thought to find the sound-file for this clip. The camera shakily remained on them as they conversed – for a few seconds, the man in the suit was on a cell-phone - and then the Digimon suddenly turned and left after a respectful nod. The human prodded Yamaki with his shoe, looking down at him before turning.

Yamaki's breath caught and he had trouble breathing as the suited man approached the camera.  
_  
Ataru Nagamora._

Yamaki felt pure unadulterated rage sweep over him like a tidal wave, clouding his vision with red spots as he shook in fury. Even with a beard, he could still recognize that face. Yamaki barely registered the images of Nagamora waiting for the ambulance and the paramedics taking the other man away. During the last ten minutes of the clip, he sat staring blindly at the laptop. The clip stopped and then began to replay itself as he did nothing, fingers curling into themselves so tightly he was sure he was going to start bleeding.

Yamaki sat staring for so long the moving images didn't make any sense anymore and simply blurred together.

Nagamora. Nagamora had been there. Nagamora hadn't attacked Musyamon; instead, the bastard talked with him as if they were friends! Nagamora had _known_, had done nothing, had even encouraged it! Yamaki wasn't aware of what his body was doing as he stood up and began to gather his keys, rooting about in one of his drawers for the gun he always kept there. His face was deceptively calm. All he could think about was Junko screaming at him for help, the morbid scene playing on repeat on the laptop, Musyamon towering over Nagamora.  
_  
Nagamora_.

…Nagamora's words then. Nagamora's words at the hospital

Nagamora had never been against the Digimon in the first place. He was responsible for Junko, had to be responsible for all the other kids before who'd been killed. _It's his fault._ It was his fault and that was all Yamaki could think as he checked the pistol to see it if had a full clip. It didn't matter if Nagamora was human or not: he had no qualms about dealing with betrayals like this, even if it meant going after humans the same way he did Digimon.

Yamaki left his apartment silently. When Reika woke up several hours later and wandered into the living room, she found the same clip playing over and over on the laptop, Yamaki's abandoned lighter and sunglasses still standing next to it.

**To be continued...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	19. Break it Down

**Digital Shuffle **  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Again, an AUish take on Digimon Tamers. Basically assumes Digimon Tamers was the "best" outcome of a number of possible outcomes, which means this take is a different one. Yamaki confronts Nagamora, Alice tells everyone about her grandfather and a "digital shuffle", and Ryo has a strange dream.

I've removed the fanart links to remove clutter, but if you're interested in seeing them, hit me up with a PM.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects (full text in this is for subconscious stuff, mostly just for Juggernaut/Will stuff)  
**Bold **for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Break it Down)

Mitsuo Yamaki was well over the speed limit.

All he could think about was that clip, replaying before his eyes. His hands gripped the steering wheel. Nagamora was behind all of this. It was his fault Junko died like that, his fault Yamaki could do little but obsess over Digimon for the next four years.

But the idea he'd been doing it next to a _traitor_ made him writhe inwardly with self-hatred.

Yamaki managed to get his rage bottled down for the moment as he tried to formulate a plan. He couldn't just go in there screaming for vengeance and waving a gun over his head. All that would do was alert Nagamora and scare the living daylights out of the graveyard shift. He'd have to make his move when he was alone with the other man. Maybe during this "imperative" meeting. _The rooms are soundproofed, so why not?_

All he cared about was getting to Nagamora and dealing with him. He should've done it earlier, but he couldn't have known the man was a traitor like that. The image of the Nagamora and Musyamon standing there and _talking_ while he bled, unconscious between them, resurfaced. Yamaki had never experienced a burning rage like this. It pervaded every corner of his being. It brought back all those past memories with startling clarity even as the present blurred before him.

He reached the Tokyo Metropolis Government Office Building within minutes of leaving his apartment. Yamaki didn't even bother to lock his car as he parked and hurried toward the entrance of the lobby with long impatient strides. The lobby guard glanced up sleepily as Yamaki stepped in through the doors. He blinked in blurry surprise: first at his unexpected appearance and then noticing that he was without his customary shades. Yamaki looked like a different man without them.

"Morning, sir," the guard touched the brim of his cap in a gesture of respect as Yamaki passed him, shoes clipping neatly on the tiles. "You're here early today."

"I know. I've some business to take care of," Yamaki paused and then came back to the desk. The guard was vaguely startled to find Yamaki's eyes were green, not blue like he'd bet long ago with some friends for pocket change. "Which floor is Ataru Nagamora on?"

The guard slowly leafed through the registrar. He stifled a yawn behind one hand. "Seventeenth floor, conference room 30A."

"Thanks."

Yamaki gave a curt nod and left for the elevators. The doors dinged shut behind him. Standing alone, he checked his shoulder holster. Snug and it released the pistol without any hitches. He'd be able to have it out and aimed within seconds. He had every intention of giving Nagamora the same chance Yamaki's niece had been given.

No chance.

Yamaki straightened his suit's jacket. His face was as coldly impassive as it had been when he talked briefly with the lobby guard. Whatever peace he felt physically, he felt none within. Memories of what he hadn't, could've, should've done four years ago; his niece's last look. Nagamora's words through the darkness haunted him as the elevator eventually came to a halt on the seventeenth floor of Hypnos' headquarters.

Yamaki stepped out. He made sure his holstered pistol was hidden before continuing down the halls. The corridors were silent, the hums of the heating systems the only sounds aside from the soft rasp of his shoes against the carpet. Every few feet, meager light spilled out from every other overhead light. He made his way toward the conference room, every fiber within his body tensing with each step as he got closer and closer to his goal.

Conference 30A.

The door was shut but light seeped out from under it. Nagamora was definitely in there. Making sure his face didn't betray his intentions, Yamaki reached for the handle and let himself in. He stopped short, his eyes narrowing at the small group inside the large conference room.

Nagamora wasn't alone. The suited man sat in the chair at the head of the black table, his utterly nondescript face turned toward one of his other companions, who poured him a cup of tea with her gloved hands. Yamaki hesitated. He hadn't known there were going to be more people in this meeting. From his impression, it was going to be just Nagamora and him. He quickly glanced at the two other people in the conference room and managed to keep his face neutral.

Why Kincaid was here, he couldn't even begin to fathom. The American wasn't dressed in her normal tech's outfit: the silver-eyed woman wore a tight black dress cut several inches above her knees that was more than a little inappropriate, her short purple hair pulled up into a pony-tail as she faced him. She offered a smile as she flashed her bare legs mockingly at him. Yamaki ignored her.

As for the other one, Yamaki knew he'd seen him before. He was little more than a boy, a small, thinly built kid with a shock of chestnut-hair held back from his face with yellow goggles. For some reason the kid was glowering at Yamaki from his position behind Kincaid with barely concealed hostility in his wide blue eyes.

Suddenly he realized where he'd seen this boy before.

_ One of those children with those Digimon. I met this one…_

His bewilderment almost overshadowed his initial fury.

"Good morning. Come on in," Kincaid gave an imitation of a bow. "Nagamora's been waiting for you, sir."

Paranoid or not, Yamaki knew a trap when he saw one. This wasn't some casual meeting. But he couldn't let himself turn and leave, not with what he'd seen only a few minutes ago. Besides, he'd done plenty of stupid things in the past knowing full well the consequences. The stakes were only higher this time. Yamaki stepped in, shutting the door behind him. Would he have to take out Kincaid too? His eyes flicked carefully over the three people in the room. Not the boy – he didn't even know _what_ the kid was doing here – but definitely Nagamora. Kincaid if she tried to stop him. Just those two. He would never hurt a child.

"It's three in the morning," Yamaki replied with his usual sourness. "What do you want this time?"

Nagamora took a sip of his tea. He beckoned him closer. "We need to talk."

Yamaki moved to stand behind his usual seat, but didn't sit down. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Kincaid circled around the other side of table with the tea pot maneuvering herself innocently toward him. The goggle-headed boy watched her with an almost hungry expression. Yamaki pretended to be blind to all of this.

"About what?" Yamaki declined Nagamora's gesture for him to sit, not caring if he was rude. "It better be quick. I'd like to go back and get some sleep."

"Trust me, this won't take long. It's just that I've been finding your conduct as of late as being…troublesome."

"And? You didn't need to wake me up to tell me this."

Kincaid had rounded the end of the long table. The boy with blue eyes continued to stare after her, fidgeting slightly.

Nagamora took another sip from his tea. "See, the thing is, you weren't asleep," he set the cup down. "You should know better than to try to hack into my personal networks. Even _you_ can't get in without getting caught."

"Are we done with the wrist-slaps?"

Nagamora almost smiled. "Almost done."

Kincaid set down the tea pot a few chairs away from Yamaki and started to pull off her gloves. Under the pretense he was crossing his arms over his chest, Yamaki carefully inched the pistol out from its holster. He'd have a clear shot at Nagamora before the American could possibly react. Wishing the boy near Nagamora would scoot over a few feet away so he wouldn't risk hitting the kid, Yamaki continued the charade:

"Good, because I'm not done yet."

"Is that so?"

Nagamora raised an eyebrow curiously. He made the barest of motions with his hand and Kincaid didn't move any closer to Yamaki. _How polite. He's letting me talk_, Yamaki thought sarcastically. By now he managed to slide the pistol free without drawing attention to himself.

"You remember our first meeting, right?"

Nagamora nodded.

Yamaki almost shot him right there for pretending to be so innocent.

"You were at the hospital after the accident – "

"I wasn't talking about the time at the hospital."

Realization dawned on Nagamora, registered on his face before he fixed an impassive stare on Yamaki. His fingers twitched slightly in a different gesture at Kincaid. Yamaki burst into action before the American could get any closer. He whipped out his pistol and aimed at Nagamora's head, his arm a blur.

But Nagamora had moved inhumanly fast, his hand closing over the gun barrel with the speed of a striking viper. Yamaki pulled the trigger and fired anyway.

There was an explosion from the gun as the bullet came blasting out.

It hit the simple ring on his hand and ricocheted off, taking off one of Nagamora's fingers instead of planting itself into his skull. Yamaki jerking his gun away from Nagamora's grasp the moment he pulled the trigger so he'd get a clear shot. Chaos erupted in the conference room.

Nagamora's mouth opened. A deafening roar of pain emerged from him as his finger vanished without any blood. The inhuman sound bounced violently off the walls as the ring that had been around his missing finger disintegrated into a puff of gold and purple dust. The man vanished into thin air as a large monster burst upward from where Nagamora stood.

Three horns protruded from the large creature's black head, his snout lengthening to a black ox's. His chest and arms bulged out with powerful muscles as his head hit the ceiling with a thud that shook the entire floor. Crimson armor coated his massive body as four cloven hooves splayed out from under Nagamora's thick torso and crushed the chair under him into splinters of plastic and wood. A tail lashed behind him and he let loose another pained roar from between his fangs. One of his large, powerful hands was missing a finger.

Yamaki froze. His eyes widened in shock.

Nagamora had never been human.

He'd been working alongside a Digimon the entire time.

That was the last conscious thought Yamaki had as Kincaid sprang up behind him. Her bare hands glowing red, she pressed the tips of her fingers onto the back of his head. Yamaki crumpled at her touch and the loaded pistol fell to the carpet.

It ended in less then a minute.

Kincaid stepped over Yamaki's still form and rushed to the Founder's side. Kaminmon had gotten there first: he'd started to change back into his real form the moment Yamaki moved, but he hadn't gotten much farther then having his fingers meld together into awkward claw-stumps, the beginnings of his head wings only feathery nubs. But despite that, he still tried to tend to Vajramon.

"Let me rip the human to pieces, my lord!" the half-shaped Takato pleaded.

Vajramon was shaking his long snout, holding his wounded hand to his chest and snarling. "No, this can't be messy! Stand down!"

Kaminmon obediently backed off, muttering, as the Deceiver pushed past him without another glance. Kincaid held out her hands. Vajramon let her examine his shot finger: Yamaki's bullet had torn it off at the base, near the palm. Data particles leaked out from what remained, only A steady trickle that wouldn't be fatal. But the finger would never grow back. Too much had been taken off for any hope of that.

Kincaid didn't want to deal with Yamaki right now. She was of the right mind to side with Kaminmon as she herself was close to taking Yamaki's body and mutilating it beyond all recognition for hurting her close friend.

"Get rid of him!" Kincaid snapped at her servant, jerking a thumb at Yamaki. "Just dump him somewhere outside of Tokyo and come back immediately."

Kaminmon nodded and began to change into his normal Champion form.

"Don't waste your time messing with him. Leave him outside the Shield's range and get back here."

Kincaid turned to Vajramon. Despite the pain, he didn't look as upset as before as he gradually calmed himself. She didn't want to ask why, instead pretending to focus on the injury as if it was more serious than it really was. Kincaid knew what he'd say if she did ask: that it was better he took the hit than she.

Right now she wasn't in the mood for this. She made sure the data leaking out slowed before she turned to help her servant. Kaminmon had finally returned to his normal form, tail swishing in agitation. The sight of _both_ the Deceiver and the Founder made him nervous and he wanted to get going so he'd be of some use. Pulling her gloves back on, Kincaid roughly hoisted the unconscious human onto Kaminmon's bony back. Yamaki wasn't a small man and Kaminmon bowed under his dead weight.

Without another word, Kaminmon opened another Divine Mist and cantered through the portal. He disappeared, leaving his superiors to themselves.

Vajramon sighed, holding up his darkly furred hand. The pain was already going away and he knew it would dissipate entirely. As an Ultimate, he healed quickly. But he hadn't thought Yamaki would worm that deep into his systems. He underestimated the resourceful human, but it didn't matter anymore. The man had been taken care of. Although it was because of Yamaki they were represented with another problem:

"I can't leave this room," Vajramon said.

"That idiot!" Kincaid growled. "Just had to be a pain, didn't he?"

"He's gone. We need to focus on what needs to be done later today," Vajramon remained with his horned head bowed and muscled shoulders hunched forward, but he still towered over Kincaid, far too big for the low ceiling. "His employees are going to wonder why he disappeared."

"Just tell me what to say and I'll tell them. I can't make you another ring: there aren't enough materials here in the Real World."

A brief silence and then Vajramon nodded. He wasn't happy with this and he suspected they'd have to start weeding through the remaining Hypnos employees and remove any others that seemed to suspect anything. This mess could have been avoided if Yamaki hadn't decided right then and there to try to get his revenge for a four-year old offense.

"Of course. Send a message to the Council informing them of my present condition."

"I will."

"Here's what I want you to tell the humans…"

Reika arrived only a few hours later to find her boss already gone. Kincaid came to greet her with a smile of good news: Yamaki Mitsuo had been transferred to a new branch of Hypnos forming in London. He wouldn't be coming back for quite some time.

He was a very busy man, after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry, but we can't admit you right now."

Jenrya pointed at Ryo. "Look at his hand!"

The receptionist had the decency to look sheepish. She blushed faintly. "All the doctors are busy."

"With what? He's got a bunch of broken fingers," Ruki cut in. The group gathered around the desk of the ER. Hard plastic chairs lined the walls, the digital display of the clock on the wall reading that it was late. The nearest emergency room hadn't been close and it hadn't helped that they'd had to walk the entire way after finding it on a map. Everyone was wet, tired and not in good moods.

"I'm sorry," the receptionist repeated firmly. "I'll see if one will be free in a few minutes, but please wait over there until then."

There was no choice but to do what she asked. Ryo slouched into one of the chairs in the corner of the lobby as the others sat down. Their Digimon waited outside in hiding: there'd been a small fiasco when they realized that they couldn't waltz in there as a group.

Jenrya glanced at everyone. Ruki sat across from him, one leg crossed as she folded her arms over her chest impatiently. Alice sat demurely with her hands resting in the lap of her black skirt, still drenched from the downpour outside but looking the same as when he'd first seen her. Next to Jenrya, Ryo was careful to keep his mangled hand from moving. They'd managed to get some wads of gauze from the receptionist: they'd tried to clear away the blood, but gave up after a few minutes of futile dabbing. Ryo settled for holding a big wad of it pressed against the largest of the gashes in his palm.

"Sorry about this," Jenrya sighed.

"What're you apologizing for? You didn't do anything."

Jenrya glanced pointedly at Ryo's hand. "I…forget it."

Ruki leaned forward, remembering something. "Alice, you said you had something to tell us."

The new girl blinked. "So I did."

"Well? We're all pretty much here except for Renamon and Terriermon. I'm sure Dobermon already knows and we can explain to our partners once we're done here."

Alice nodded. She toyed with the folds of her black skirt, tracing the lines of the crosses with her fingers for a moment before looking up, her blue eyes resolved.

"My grandfather sent me here. He was one of the ones responsible for creating the Digimon program."

Ryo remained suspiciously silent as Jenrya stared at her. Ruki's own expression was skeptical, nearly matching Ryo's.

"If you don't trust me, then do some research on Rob McCoy. He worked with your father when he was in college," Alice directed her gaze upon Jenrya. "My grandfather moved to California since then. He's been working in Silicon Valley to develop something to combat the threat from the Digital World. You're familiar with what's going on here?"

"I tried to explain with what I knew," Ryo almost shrugged but thought better of it. "They're basically planning to break through the barriers between our world and theirs."

"Close enough. But when that happens, when the two Worlds come into full contact, there will be a 'digital shuffle'."

"A what?" Ruki's eyebrows drew together.

"A digital shuffle. It's a fairly rare phenomenon, since the necessary causes for it usually don't occur naturally: the chances of it happening on its own are extremely small. All I know is it's only happened twice in the Digital World. Data gets re-arranged as the Digital World tries to evolve itself in response to new code being fed into it. It tries to adapt."

"What's wrong with it?" Jenrya asked.

"When data as advanced as the Digital World's starts reformatting, the current base world is essentially erased from existence because of the 'shuffling' of its components," Alice said. "Direct contact between the Real and Digital Worlds will be enough to trigger a large scale digital shuffle: anything between the points of contact will be erased out as the Digital World evolves to match it and replace the original."

Silence. Then Ryo spoke up, black eyes narrowed:

"And what point would that serve? The Digimon don't want to destroy the Real World."

"I'm aware of that. It's only an unfortunate side-effect. The place with the point of contact will be erased, but the rest of the Real World would be relatively unscathed, provided they don't open up any more large tears."

"So only Tokyo would be destroyed since it's the point of contact. I already told them this."

"But it's still worth bringing up, considering what my grandfather is working on. He's developing a program to prevent them from making the breach that would result in a digital shuffle. We can't stop a digital shuffle once it happens. But we can do something to stop the conditions that create one...that's the program my grandfather's developing." Alice replied. "It should prevent them from over-loading the tear between Worlds. It would stop both the digital shuffle and the Digimon."

Well, here was some good news for once, Jenrya nearly sighed. So they weren't as alone as he thought. But that didn't mean they could only rely on this Rob McCoy.

"So what's this program they're making called?"

Alice glanced at him. "The D-Reaper."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Renamon remained kneeling in the shadows of the wall with the other two Digimon. She remained quiet as Ruki told her through their bond what was going on, listening intently to her Tamer's telepathic voice. Ruki was brief since she was focused more on listening to Alice and Ryo than talking to her partner. Renamon quietly repeated what she heard to the other Digimon.

Terriermon frowned, scratching at his short arm with a claw. "D-Reaper? That sounds scary. Are you sure it's on our side?"

"It's our backup," Dobermon said simply.

"Whatever it is, they're not finished with it," Renamon added. "So that doesn't mean we can rely on it."

From what she heard, Renamon wasn't sure what to think of it. It sounded almost too good to be true: a benevolent watchdog program acting as an artificial barrier between the Real and Digital Worlds. Something that could buy them more time if only it was finished. She wanted to believe in it. But she couldn't. Not with their recent string of luck. Not with everything that happened so far. She glanced out from under their shelter, her bushy tail swishing.

_ I wonder if it's ever going to stop raining._ Surely it had to, although it had been pouring for several days in a row without ceasing. And where was that strange pillar of energy from Odaiba? It had been spreading ever since they saw it shoot into the sky under the black clouds. Rain dribbled off the overhang and onto the sidewalk in an endless drum. Terriermon plopped down with his back against the wall, button eyes staring out into the wet darkness. Dobermon waited next to Renamon.

It was over an hour and a half before she saw Ruki again. Emerging from the large building across the street, the Tamer looked to be in one of her worse moods as she stormed through the rain.

"Two hours!" Ruki railed once she got there. "And they didn't even give him a real cast!"

Ryo's hand had quickly bound by thin bandages, now lightly covered with some kind of flimsy plaster after having all the glass and splinters removed from his palm and fingers. That hadn't been fun, although thankfully he'd pulled out the largest chunk of glass himself back during the Black Growlmon thing. Still, the harried doctor hadn't done much of a job aside from trying to set all his fingers straight. A faint red splotch of blood formed under the bandages.

Still, it'd have to do. Better then nothing. He'd been prepared to leave it as is, so this was a step above his original plan.

"Now what?" Ryo asked.

Ruki exchanged looks with Renamon and Alice. "Nothing's changed. This D-Reaper thing sounds like it'd be a huge help, but we can't rely on it right now if it's not done."

"It'll be online in under a month," Alice interjected mildly.

"A lot can happen in a month," Renamon said. "We can't sit until then and simply hope it'll work like it should – or that it even comes online in time before anything happens."

"It _will_ work like it should," Dobermon rumbled. "It's flawless so far."

"It's better to take precautions anyway," Jenrya said. He glanced at the others. "Ruki, you said you saw something at Odaiba. We better go back then."

"I know that. But Zudomon is a Mega – we can't fight him even if everyone went to Champion."

"If Ruki and Renamon go, then we'll go as well," Alice met Ruki's gaze. "It's not something that should be used lightly, but Stromstärke is somewhat effective against Digimon that powerful. If anything happens, we'll have time to run."

Ruki flushed but bit back her impulsive retort. Jenrya tried to think of what else they could do. The fact something was going on in Odaiba's harbor wasn't comforting at all. Jenrya looked out at the rain, running a hand absently through his cropped blue hair as he tried to think.

"Whatever you saw, it's probably going to come to Shinjuku. I think we need to tell our families. Or at least get them to go underground or leave Tokyo before it's too late."

"You can't be serious…" Ruki started and stopped. "You _are_ serious."

"I mean it. It's too dangerous. Remember those lights we keep seeing in the sky?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"They're Golems," Ryo picked up where Jenrya left off. "They're from the Digital World, but they're not really Digimon. Just mindless data shells. If you come into contact with them for more than a few seconds, they can kill you by touch alone."

"They don't come during the day," Jenrya mused. "I was thinking we talk to our families then. Ruki, can you see if there's any places safe underground? In case we don't have time to get them out of Tokyo?"

Ruki nodded. "Fine. I'll see what I can do," a thought hit her. "What about Takato's family?"

Jenrya fell silent for a second. He lowered his eyes. "I guess I'll talk to them."

"Are you sure, Jenrya?" Terriermon looked up at his Tamer with concern.

"Yeah."

Would they listen to him? Jenrya couldn't say: they knew he'd been close friends with Takato and showing up at their door would bring back memories of their missing son. Takato's parents might not even want to see him. But Ruki going instead was out of the question – she could be callous, even if it was unintentional in some cases. While both Ryo and Alice had obviously known about Takato, they never actually met him face to face. Which basically left Jenrya as the only real option.

_ Great. Just great_.

"I guess Ruki, Renamon, Alice and Dobermon will be going back to Odaiba. Ryo, Terriermon and I can keep looking around Shinjuku for that fake Takato we saw the other night."

Alice blinked. "Fake Takato?"

"Long story. I'll tell you after this," Ruki said.

"We're going to get ambushed again," Ryo frowned. He looked down at his crippled hand. "They almost got us this time because we were separated."

"We're going to have to risk it though. If we're in one group, we'll be safer,but we can't cover as much ground."

"So either way, we can still lose."

Jenrya wished Ryo didn't have to be so pessimistic. "Put that way, yeah."

"That's true though. But if we keep in contact, that won't be as much of a problem as it was tonight. We can work together even if we're apart." Ruki said. "You already have my cell-phone number. We could check up on each other at intervals or something."

Jenrya nodded. This wasn't much of a plan. But the news of this "D-Reaper" made him feel a little better, if not by much. It wasn't something they could put a lot of trust in at this point, but it was still a new reason for hope. Whatever was happening in Odaiba almost canceled that out though. He knew his Dad would probably listen since he already knew about Terriermon being real. His mom was a problem since she was still out, but he'd try calling to ask her back.

His family wouldn't be too hard since his Dad was supportive. It was trying to convince Takato's parents that Jenrya wasn't looking forward to.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki came home hours late.

Rumiko Makino wasn't pleased with her daughter, even if she didn't know how to voice it. All she knew was when she got back her photoshoot, her daughter wasn't there asleep. Peering into the empty bedroom, the model sighed. Ruki shouldn't be out this late. Rumiko was tired as she wandered into the living room and sat down so that could watch the door.

_ What's Ruki doing out this late? _Rumiko fretted and bit a dainty lip. It was way past midnight.

This was ridiculous, even by her standards. Rumiko wanted at least to make sure her daughter came back home safely before she started grilling her about where she'd been.

Rumiko wasn't entirely sure where – or when - she went wrong with Ruki. Her daughter was cool to her, as if she wasn't her mom, but a stranger who happened to live in the same house. Her attempts to include Ruki always seemed to fall flat on its face. Even so, Rumiko wanted it to change. _Maybe Mom, Ruki and I can go somewhere nice…_

That was an idea. She cupped her chin in one hand, listening to the steady ticking of the clock on the low-set table. _Maybe __Okinawa__?_ Ruki had gone there a few times with Rumiko's mother, and from what Rumiko heard, she seemed to enjoy herself. Okinawa might work. She'd had money set aside for something special like this. Rumiko couldn't help a girlish smile. She wouldn't announce her idea. No, she'd do better – she'd surprise _both_ her mom and her daughter.

And it would be a real vacation. No work whatsoever. Rumiko promised herself she wouldn't even bring up anything relating to her modeling or to Ruki's school. It would be them as a family.

The door opened and shut, jarring Rumiko back to the present. She rose to her feet, smoothing out her skirt as she hurried to the hall. She stopped short, hand on the doorway as she met her daughter. Ruki had brought a stranger with her: a foreign girl with blond pigtails who was currently stepping out of her heavy boots as Ruki kicked off her own shoes.

"Where've you been, Ruki?" Rumiko asked. To her surprise, her voice came out irritated. "It's three in the morning!"

"I was out."

Rumiko let out an exasperated sigh. She didn't want to get into another fight. The model glanced at the girl standing behind her daughter. The foreigner looked like she'd been running out in the rain like Ruki. "Who's this?"

"She's Alice McCoy, an exchange student," Ruki gestured. "I forgot to mention this, but she's supposed to stay with us."

Rumiko raised an eyebrow. She'd never heard of any of this. _But then again, I haven't been home for very long in a few weeks._ Ruki was staring at her like she was about to blow her off immediately.

"I guess it's alright. We do have room," Rumiko said. She stepped aside as Ruki started to brush past her. "Wait, I wasn't done."

Ruki impatiently shot her a tired look.

"Let me make you some tea. Don't stay out this late again," Rumiko avoided Ruki's eyes, suddenly feeling awkward. She turned away. "I always get worried when you stay out like that."

Ruki blinked in surprise but her mother was already vanishing toward the kitchen before she could say anything. Alice came up behind her silently.

"Family difficulties?"

Ruki snorted. "Sorta."

The Tamer had changed into fresh clothing and given Alice some of her dry extras by the time the tea was ready. She sat down at the table clothed in a long-sleeved green shirt and black sweatpants. Next to her, Alice wore a pale gray sweater with another pair of the same sweatpants Ruki wore. She'd let down her hair from her severe hairstyle and it fell loosely around her face. Rumiko came back with three cups and a steaming pot of tea only a few seconds after they sat down.

"I don't know if you like green tea, but i's all we had," Rumiko apologized. She poured them some tea before saying, "So I guess you're going to be staying with us, Alice."

"Thank you," Alice accepted the cup. "I think so. My grandfather's in the United States, but he sent me here. I hope I'm not imposing?"

Rumiko shook her head. "No, it's fine. It's just we never had anyone over like this before."

Ruki eyed her mother over the steaming rim of the tea cup. Alice was engaging the beautiful model, answering her questions quietly. It baffled Ruki: her mother had to have gotten back hours earlier. Why wasn't she asleep? Confused, Ruki took a sip of the green tea. It was good, nice and rich, without getting sweet or overly bitter. More refined than when her grandmother made it.

Ruki had never tried her mother's tea before.

"…So your only relative is your grandfather?" Rumiko was saying as Ruki turned her attention back to the conversation.

"Yes. I wanted to stay with him but he said that I couldn't."

"That's too bad," Rumiko said. "But you're staying in contact with him, right?"

Alice nodded. She shot a discreet look at Ruki. Was she going to tell her mother about what was going on? Or would she wait? Because talking about Rob McCoy wandered into sensitive territory. _It's too late to start going into details right now_, Ruki decided. Everyone was tired. It was important, but it could wait until morning. She didn't even know how to approach her mother about this. Unlike Jenrya, she didn't have all the answers all planned out.

They finished the tea quickly. Saying they needed to go to sleep, Ruki left with Alice to her room. Rumiko staying back to gather the used cups and empty pot.

She had finished setting the cups out to dry on the counter's rack when she happened to look up toward the window. Something lit up the sky. Rumiko's hands stopped over the tea pot as she bent over the sink to get a better look, peering outside.

There was a small cloud of wispy light in the sky about a block away. _Clouds?_ Rumiko's eyebrows furrowed as she squinted. The wispy-shapes almost looked like floating animals; strange creatures, like nothing she'd ever seen before. She was imagining things. _Animals_, she snorted. _Yeah, right_.

When Rumiko looked up again a few minutes later, they were gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo hadn't gotten much sleep over the past couple of days.

He shivered as he stepped through the apartment's door after Jenrya. The two boys were thoroughly drenched from the rain outside. It'd been easy to ignore when they'd been running from Black Growlmon's flames and he hadn't paid much attention afterward. Now it was noticeable. He took a quick – if extremely awkward due to the cast – shower before sitting down on the couch. Jenrya went into the bathroom as soon as he'd left it and came out to find Ryo hadn't moved. He sat with his hands on his knees, lax, and staring off into space.

"What's up?" Jenrya asked in the middle of running a towel through his hair.

Ryo didn't look at him, still staring off at nothing. "Just thinking."

Jenrya sat down next to the other boy. The clock on the TV read it was three in the morning, by far the latest he'd ever stayed up so far. He was tired, especially from today. Ryo had to be the same, but he only gazed out at the rain- slicked window across the living room.

"What do you think of this D-Reaper thing?"

"I don't know what to think. It almost sounds like it might give us an actual chance."

"With the D-Reaper up, we could focus on defending ourselves and finding Takato."

"Yeah. It'd be nice if it worked."

Silence. Jenrya stifled a yawn. Next to him, Ryo glanced down at his bandaged hand and plucked aimlessly at the parts of the binding protruding out. The bandages on his palm had turned pink from the wounds that reopened when he took the shower. But his fingers at least where in their proper positions now, although they didn't respond and simply hung there as if they were made of plastic. Jenrya glanced at Ryo's hand.

"They should've given you a better cast."

"I can probably get another one later," Ryo shook himself. His eyes refocused. "I'm tired: I'm gonna get some sleep."

Jenrya got him a fresh blanket as he once again stretched himself out onto the couch. Jenrya shuffled off toward his bedroom after seeing Ryo was settled in as well as he could be, leaving him to himself. The lights flickered off as Jenrya shut the door and left Ryo in the dimly lit living room. He lay on his back with his arms draped loosely across his chest as he tried to go to sleep. He tossed and turned restlessly for a bit before he finally drifted off.

Sleep was uneasy.

He dreamed again.

_When he opened his eyes, it was like he'd never left. Miles of orange desert stretched endlessly in every direction. Rocks climbed up into cliffs going hundreds of feet high in the air. The usual bands of data twisted overhead. A blanket of heat that felt both oppressive and fake. The remnants of a dusty cloak flapped about his shoulders. Long bangs nearly covered his eyes – Ryo hadn't had a haircut in who knew how long. He even had those fake claws on his right hand that he'd had to wear back __then__, trying to look as least human as possible. Most of the time it worked. Sometimes it didn't. Then you got very good at running. _

_The Digital World. _ _Ryo didn't want to be here: not now. Not ever again. _

_He thought about it enough awake. _

_It was obvious where this was going. The details sometimes changed but most of the encore was the same; sure enough, there was a sound behind him, a guttural snarl that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He whirled. A huge silhouette stood behind him, towering over Ryo by over a good meter. The sun blazed at its back._

_Ryo couldn't move, frozen to the spot as he gazed up at the outline standing above him, the sun shining in his face, hearing the creak of his partner's wings. Time slowed, ticking second by second by second. Time crawled now as it had the first time, as it had all the other times in his memory. Time slowed so much there was no avoiding what came next. No avoiding it at all. It was some kind of twisted fate. It couldn't have been any other way._

_Sudden pain. _

_Ryo looked down as dark red blossomed from his side. It hurt beyond anything words could describe._

_The claws flashed out as his partner tore at him in a rage, screaming something that Ryo was too busy getting maimed to really register._ (Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the words were more important than anything else, hurt more than nearly getting gutted). _First his left side was torn to shreds. Then his shoulder. A row of knives dragging down the small of his back. Blood splattered against the desert. His legs choose to give out from under him. It was only then that Ryo fell, hitting the baked ground of the desert heavily. Ryo panted, eyes glazed over in pain he barely registered his partner's clawed feet straddling him._

_Blood seeped into his face from a head wound he didn't remember getting as his good eye slid up toward his attacker. The sun was still behind him, peeking through the rents in those wings of his. It hurt so much, burned so much it made him numb with a seeping cold even in the desert heat. Blood seemed to evaporate into data. _

_Ryo was vaguely aware of someone cradling his body but he couldn't see anymore, his eyes rolling back as he started to pass out from blood loss. Whoever held him close shuddered with a mixture of pain and some other emotion. His voice came out in double-tones. _

_"I wanted it to end. It hurt too much knowing what you are."_

_Ryo couldn't even ask what any of that meant. His head rested against his partner's armored shoulder as he was gently rocked like a small kid in those arms, blood still dissipating into data specks even as he sucked in a bubbly wheeze. Sudden agony from his neck - worse than anything before - and he wasn't able to even breathe as he felt fangs pull themselves free of his throat. More blood, only this time he was choking on it, drowning in red.. _

_He was dying._

_"You were so cruel, denying me an end."_

_Then the voice was gone, leaving Ryo lying on the ground as darkness crept up and started to engulf him – _

"Ryo?"

Ryo slowly opened one eye. Jenrya was standing him and looking at him with one of those Jenrya frowns he was starting to get used to. Gray light lit the room. Morning had already come, yet it seemed like he'd drifted off into sleep only a few minutes ago. Ryo felt uneasy, but he couldn't explain why. All he knew was that he'd had a dream, like some of the others, and he hadn't liked it. Left a bad taste in his mouth. But other than that, he couldn't remember anything about it. He couldn't remember dreaming in the Digital World - he'd only started having the dreams once he was back in the Real World.

Something told him he should probably be glad he couldn't remember them.

The older boy sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm up," Ryo said. Jenrya sat on the floor next to the couch, watching him. "What?"

"Something wrong?"

"You tell me."

Jenrya shook his head. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Something's always bothering me," Ryo raked his fingers through his messy hair, trying to comb it back to its normal shape. "I had a dream, that's all."

Jenrya took up the blanket that Ryo shed as he stood up. The thin makeshift cast around his broken hand was stained red in some places, but other than that, Ryo's hand looked like it was going to survive. The blue-haired Tamer began to fold the blanket. "What was it about?"

"What, the dream? Damned if I know. I don't remember." Ryo trailed off thoughtfully. "Got a bad vibe from it, that's all."

Jenrya draped the neatly folded blanket along the back of the couch. He paused.

"Ryo, if they get bad, you can talk about it with me."

"…I know. But I wouldn't get your hopes up that I'll get squishy about it any time soon," Ryo said. He glanced out the living room's window. Rain streaked down the glass.

Jenrya wished Ryo would be more open. The Tamer thought he understood him better, even if his first impression about Ryo hadn't been that good. But the other boy always seemed to distance himself whenever Jenrya tried to help, either flat-out blowing him off or giving a noncommittal grunt as he withdrew. Jenrya didn't know what he could possibly do to help except listen. The only thing he could do was wait until Ryo felt ready.

Not to mention there were other things he had to think about. Too many things.

_ Dad's not here yet._ Jenrya knew his Dad was involved with Digimon in the past, but he didn't know if he was working on that "D-Reaper" program that Alice mentioned. If he was, it wasn't full time since there were no plans to go to the United States any time in the future. No running past this by Dad until he came back. That left the next option. Jenrya really didn't want to have to do this, but he couldn't call and expect them to take him seriously. It'd have to be face to face.

"Where're you going?" Ryo asked as Jenrya got ready to go.

"I have to go to Takato's. I need to talk to his parents."

"And what about school?"

"I'll be late," Jenrya shrugged. "This's more important."

"Want me to come with?"

Jenrya paused. It might be better if he faced Takato's parents alone, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave Ryo here by himself like that: who knew if the things that attacked him a few days before would come back? He could leave Terriermon here though. That left Jenrya unprotected, but he did have his D-Arc and if it worked like Ryo's had, then that was good enough. Terriermon didn't look happy when he voiced this idea.

"I wanna go with you!" Terriermon protested.

"That's a bad idea," Ryo said flatly at the same time.

Jenrya already made up his mind. "Terriermon, no. And that's all I can come up with, Ryo, Takato's parents are probably still really worried about him. It'll be bad enough I'll be there."

"And what if you get attacked and we don't?"

Terriermon started to open his mouth to argue. "Jen –"

"_No_. I mean it."

Terriermon looked away and it looked like he was about to start pouting in sheer frustration, lower lip already starting to stick out rebelliously. Jenrya almost laughed at how silly the Rookie always looked when he acted like this, but bit it back, nodding as he finished stepping into his shoes. Ryo was watching him unhappily.

"Don't get killed over me. Make it as fast as you can."

Jenrya nodded and hurriedly left before Terriermon's resolve strengthened.

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It was only when he peddled down toward the street where the Matsuda's bakery was that he faltered. Jenrya slowed, then finally stopped altogether and got off his bike. Rain still came down, gray as the sky, but he managed to juggle the bicycle's handles and the umbrella as he wheeled it toward the bakery. _Okay. Don't do anything stupid_, Jenrya reminded himself. _Just tell them everything you know without making them worry too much._

If _that_ was even possible. Their son was missing and now Jenrya was going to be the bearer of more bad news.

Although it was a week day, the small street wasn't busy. Most of the stores were closed, windows dark as he went past them. Jenrya kept on the lookout for any signs of an ambush, his eyes quickly scanning the area. A repeat of last night could easily get nasty and the thought it could involve the Matsudas wasn't something he wanted to consider.

Jenrya carefully leaned his bicycle up against the bakery. He peeked in through the window display: fresh trays of steaming bread rolls sat out on the shelves but he couldn't see any customers browsing. The store looked empty. Jenrya went back to the door, and, steeling himself, turned the handle. The door opened and he stepped in.

"Hello?" Jenrya called tentatively.

His voice sounded hollow and small in the bakery. Closing his umbrella and leaving it near the door, having nowhere better to put it, he ventured further inside. If the store was open, one of Takato's parents had to be here.

"Mr. Matsuda? Mrs. Matsuda?"

They could be in the backroom with the ovens. Jenrya had been in the backroom once when Takato volunteered to give him a tour of the place the first time he'd been over, so he knew where it was. Feeling like he was intruding, the Tamer went past the counter and glanced in the backroom. The ovens were still going, judging from the blast of heat in his face.

_ They're here then._ This was the first time he'd seen the bakery look so empty. He called again into the backroom but there was no response, so he went back into the main portion of the store.

"Hello? Um, it's Jenrya Lee, I –"

A door slammed from above. Footsteps and then someone came down the stairs. It was Takato's dad. He had dark circles under his eyes and for a second he stared at Jenrya without recognizing him. The baker blinked, as if he was the last person he expected to see.

"Jenrya…? What're you doing here?"

"I, uh…I was wondering if I could maybe talk with you guys?"

Mr. Matsuda removed his cloth cap and rubbed at his forehead. "Jenrya, if you're looking for Takato, he hasn't come back yet."

Before Jenrya could speak, there was another series of footsteps and Takato's mom joined the two at the base if the stairs. The woman had been crying recently but she dashed the tears away quickly with the back of her hand when she saw who her husband was talking to. She looked so hopeful Jenrya wished he could just slink away into a hole. Maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to let Ryo do the talking – Ryo wouldn't feel the growing guilt.

Jenrya's tanned cheeks flushed. Mrs. Matsuda stared at him like he somehow knew where Takato was. His just looked like he was too worn to have the same hope.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know where Takato is," Jenrya said and hating himself when he saw Mrs. Matsuda's face fall. "I came to make sure you guys were okay."

"We're fine. It's just that we don't know what to do," Mr. Matsuda said.

"I want Takato to come back _home_!" his wife sounded close to breaking down into tears again. "I-I just want him back with us..."

Silence that was broken by suppressed sobs from Takato's mom - her husband tried to comfort her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and rubbing her back gently. Jenrya stared at the ground. If he had any other choice, he would've gladly fled the bakery and kept running until he couldn't feel those two pairs of eyes on him.

Jenrya gave them a minute or so to collect themselves. Eventually Takato's mom stopped sobbing, although she couldn't keep the frequent sniffles under control.

Jenrya looked up. Mr. Matsuda was looking at him as if he could force him to leave by making eye-contact. Whatever he had to say couldn't possibly be of any use to them in their search for their lost son. Mrs. Matsuda wasn't even looking at Jenrya, her shoulders drooping as she rubbed at her red eyes.

"I'm sorry. I…I've been trying everything I could to find him," Jenrya said quietly. "I'm as worried as you are – he's your son. And he's my best friend. But that's not what I came here to talk about –"

" - Look, I hate to be rude, but you need to leave," Mr. Matsuda gritted.

Jenrya stood his ground. "I can't."

That broke Mrs. Matsuda's composure. "Just leave us alone!" she cried.

"I want to find him too!" Jenrya remained stubbornly where he stood. "Please, listen to me. I'm sorry I can't help with Takato right now. I know we'll find him eventually – _I_ won't stop looking. But this's an emergency."

They didn't interrupt him, although Mrs. Matsuda looked like she was on the verge of breaking down again. Her husband aimed a tired glare at Jenrya. He managed to sit them down on the stairs before continuing on. Outside, the rain drummed with the same monotonous rhythm of a clock as he began:

"Do you know what Digimon are?" Jenrya asked.

Mr. Matsuda stared at him as if he'd asked the most irrelevant question imaginable. "They're from a game. Takato used to be obsessed with them, he was always drawing or talking about them. It was a harmless phase."

"They're nowhere near 'harmless'," Jenrya said. "They _did_ come from a game. But they evolved into real creatures since the game was first created – "

Mr. Matsuda gave a cynical laugh. " – Jenrya, please. We're not in the mood for stories right now."

"I never said I was telling a story, Mr. Matsuda. I'm dead serious," Jenrya said. "You can ask my dad Janyuu Lee. He was one of those who worked on this game, he knows about Digimon. And he knows that three of us are partnered with some of them. Takato, Ruki Makino and myself."

Mrs. Matsuda started at the mention of her son but both remained quiet enough for Jenrya to continue. Jenrya bowed his head, trying to figure out how to say this tactfully. But there was no time for tact: he'd have to say everything as far as he knew without wasting time on making it easy for them.

"Digimon are constantly coming through to the Real World – our world – and they're usually hostile. If it wasn't for our partner Digimon, all of us would probably be hurt. Or dead," Mr. Matsuda winced at Jenrya's words. "I don't know if you've seen Takato's partner Guilmon – I'm guessing probably not. After Takato went missing, Guilmon went missing too shortly after that."

Jenrya decided now wasn't the time to mention Black Growlmon. It was confusing enough trying to explain to Takato's parents about Digimon and the idea of friendly ones.

"The thing is, more and more Digimon're coming through from their world to ours. And they're not friendly like our partners, I don't think they'd hesitate to kill you. And if it's not them, it's the other things happening in Tokyo right now," Jenrya rushed blindly on. "The lights in the sky at night, for example. They're not lights. If they touch you, they can kill you. A friend of mine already ran into some and he barely managed to escape."

Jenrya paused for breath. He saw their expressions on their faces. _They don't believe me._ He didn't know what to do: there was just too much to explain in too short of a time. It was a bad place to be telling them this, but there were no other alternatives.

"You have to believe me!" Jenrya pleaded, voice desperate. "Find somewhere underground to hide. Or just leave Tokyo. It's not safe here anymore!"

More silence. _I've got to prove to them Digimon exist!_ Once they believed him, they'd have to believe him too about the Golems and everything else.

"I can prove it. Please, go somewhere and hide. That's all I'm asking."

Takato's father got to his feet. "Jenrya, look. I know you're worried. We are too. But we're _not_ leaving."

"You have to!" Jenrya glanced from one face to another.

"This bakery is our _home_," Mrs. Matsuda said. For the first time she met Jenrya's eyes. "It's Takato's home too."

"I know, but it's for your safety!"

"We can't leave unless we leave as a family."

Jenrya opened his mouth. Closed it when he saw both adults wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried to push. For the first time in a while, he felt his eyes start watering with helpless tears and he looked away so they wouldn't see him start to cry. Everything that could was going wrong. He hadn't lied when he said he'd never stop looking for his best friend – but what if Takato came back to find both parents dead? Dead because Jenrya hadn't been able to do anything?

Jenrya jumped when a hand suddenly placed itself on his shoulder. The half-Chinese Tamer looked up, tears glimmering in his vision. Mr. Matsuda looked down at him with a sad smile on his face.

"You've been a good friend to Takato, Jenrya. I'm sorry I was angry with you," he said. "It'll be alright."

"I…"

"You were trying to help," Mr. Matsuda's voice was soft. "But whether or not there's really a danger to us, we can't leave like that."

Jenrya bowed his head, defeated. "What if Takato comes back and you guys aren't here for him?"

"We will be," Mrs. Matsuda shared a mournful glance with her husband.

Her husband nodded. "Exactly. Dangerous or not, he'll always have a home to come back to."

"Please – "

"That's enough, Jenrya," Mr. Matsuda said firmly. He steered Jenrya toward the door. "Thanks for worrying about us."

Jenrya found his umbrella placed into his numbed hands. This wasn't what was supposed to happen! He blinked but found that any further attempts to argue were quickly silenced. He soon stood in the bakery's doorway, rain pattering behind him. Takato's parents stood in the bakery side by side. Mr. Matsuda stepped forward and shook Jenrya's hand.

"Take it easy, Jenrya."

"You too, Mr. Matsuda," Jenrya found himself saying.

"Be careful on the way back."

"I will, Mrs. Matsuda." This felt like it some sort of final goodbye and, feeling a lump in his throat, Jenrya added quickly, "I'll check up on both of you when I can. You'll be the first people I'll contact when I find Takato."

"Thank you. Goodbye, Jenrya."

And Jenrya found himself once again standing out in the rain. The door of the bakery shut behind him. Dazed, the Tamer stared down at the raindrops splashing in the puddles. He was too stunned to open his umbrella and he was distantly aware of the moisture trickling down his neck as his hair plastered itself against his forehead. _What now?_ He could turn around and go right back in, but nothing would change. Takato's parents had made up their mind and, short of tying them up and dragging the two away, nothing would budge them.

If Jenrya was crying now, he couldn't tell.

First Takato...and now his best friend's parents.

Rain washed any tears away as Jenrya stood in front of the bakery and wondered if this was the last time he was going to see the Matsudas.

**To be continued...**

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Edited to be more coherent. I've also reworked Ryo's dream to be more in-line with the backstory I ended up wanting to go with.


	20. Side Story Juri Katou: Lion Heart

**Digital Shuffle **  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Finally got to Juri's Side Story. This will detail what happens to Juri outside of the barrier during the main story.

Side note: Juri's stepbrother Masahiko is her blood-brother now.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
_Italics_ for thoughts and emphasis and sound effects

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Side Story: Juri Katou - Lion Heart  
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_"I would rather live and love where death is king than have eternal life where love is not."_  
_- Robert G. Ingersoll_

(Present day)

Juri Katou ran for her life.

Branches and twigs tore at her legs. Her breaths, when they came, were ragged. A small dip in the dirt suddenly caught the toe of her shoe and she stumbled to her knees. Chest heaving, she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes darted from tree to tree. Where were they? Those things had to be still out there. But her pursuers were nowhere to be seen. But the humming still remained…

"Juri, what's going on?" the small Digimon pressed up against her chest asked.

She shook her head and forced herself up onto shaking legs. "I-I don't know, Calumon."

She wished she did. She wished she knew what these things were doing here, why they were chasing her, if her parents were okay. But above all that, she wished she knew if she was going to make it back alive.

Juri wished she hadn't left Tokyo in the first place.

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(Several days ago)

There wasn't as much luggage as she thought there would be.

Jenrya Lee didn't quite agree as he hoisted the last of it into the trunk of her dad's car. He'd offered to help with packing once she told him when she'd be leaving on the camping trip with her family. Juri had refused at first, saying she'd be fine, but he'd been so earnest that she couldn't say "no" forever. So now the half-Chinese boy was leaning against the car's bumper, puffing slightly for breath.

"That's the last of it?" Jenrya asked, looking up.

Juri nodded. "Yeah. We're waiting for my Dad to get everyone ready."

"Okay."

"Thanks for helping out."

Jenrya nodded. "Sure, no problem. I'm glad your dad decided to leave earlier."

Juri tilted her head at this. She knew she could be naïve at times, but she wasn't stupid. Something was wrong. If it wasn't the will o'wisps she saw in the sky the other night, it was Takato's disappearance and now Jenrya's evasive behavior. But she said nothing and simply pretended she was oblivious. As always. It was only expected of her. But expected or not, she couldn't help but wonder why he was so concerned about her staying out of Shinjuku – or Tokyo, for that matter.

Jenrya sat back on the bumper and caught his breath. He made sure they were alone before continuing.

"Is Calumon with you?" he asked. There was a giggle from the small backpack Juri wore. Jenrya flashed a grin. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Well, I didn't know he was coming, but he appeared and said he wanted to," Juri said. "I…um, I don't really know how to take care of Digimon, so…?"

"They're like us," Jenrya said. He continued to watch out for Juri's family. "Just make sure Calumon gets enough food and sleep. He likes to wander around sometimes so if he decides he's going to go off on his own, I'd let him do what he wants."

Calumon pushed his head up through the flaps. "Camping! I wanna go camping!"

"You will in a bit," Jenrya told him with a grin. "Come to think of it, do you even know what camping is?"

"Nope!" This didn't seem to faze Calumon. "But I heard everyone talking about it and it sounds fun!"

Jenrya smiled at this, but Juri wasn't fooled. She pretended to laugh at his quiet jokes as they passed the time, pretended like she wasn't getting worried just because _he_ was clearly worried. Calumon didn't seem to notice at all that things were any different; the Rookie bounced inside her backpack with the same energy he approached everything else.

Juri's dad came back and they finished the last preparations. Juri found herself climbing into the cramped car as the rest of her family did the same. At Jenrya's gesture, she rolled down the window. The half-Chinese boy leaned in as her dadand stepmother went over a checklist, occupied.

"Juri…? One more thing..." Jenrya bit his lip.

Juri waited. Jenrya looked so serious then. Tired. But he only broke into another easy-going smile.

"Take it easy out there. I'll see you guys when you get back, so have fun, okay?"

The last Juri saw of Jenrya was him waving from the sidewalk as their car pulled out onto the street. He quickly vanished from view. She faced forward in her car seat. What had he been about to say? Her dog puppet lay limp in her lap as Juri stared out the window at the scenery blurring past. Jenrya'd looked so tense then. And he wasn't as good at hiding his emotions as she could be…

"Juri?"

Juri blinked. Her stepmother, Shizue, half-turned in the passenger's seat, was looking at her. "Sorry," Juri said automatically.

"Are you feeling alright? You were staring off into space."

"I'm okay. Just thinking," Juri replied.

"You sure? I mean, if you want, we can switch places and you can sit up here where it's less cramped –"

"That's okay. I'm, um, going to take a nap."

Juri curled up as best she could. Conversation with her stepmother wasn't worth it right now. She missed the glances the two adults exchanged in the front. She slept for most of the ride there to the camp grounds. By the time she opened her eyes, the lights of Tokyo were behind them. Realizing this, Juri turned and watched them for as long as she could, Jenrya's words – both spoken and unspoken – echoing. Instead of feeling excited, she felt uneasy.

For some reason, this didn't feel like a vacation. It felt more like they were running away.

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"Damn, how'd we get all this stuff in here in the first place?"

Juri watched as her dad stood with the car trunk open, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the inside. His wife stood nearby with the same dismayed expression. They'd reached the campgrounds by the time the afternoon began to darken as evening approached. It was only a matter of getting everything out; apparently easier said than done. Everything was packed so tightly they couldn't get to what they wanted to get out first.

Juri's dad reached and out took hold of a thick duffle bag. "Guess we'll just do it this way: get everything out and then worry about getting organized."

His wife sighed. "Organization is never one of your strong points."

"Hey, I _try_…!" Juri's dad said in mock protest. He struggled a bit with the bag before it popped out. He stumbled backward a step and offered his wife the duffle bag as a peace offering. "Here. A gift for you."

Shizue only rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Thanks. I think."

"It's from the bottom of my heart."

"Even though it's yours?"

Juri didn't participate in their bantering – she never did. It was strange seeing her dad do it. Even stranger to see Shizue do it back. Juri couldn't remember if her real mother did the same, but it felt like her "new" mother was trying to fill an empty role left behind. A simple replacement. But Juri couldn't go out and _say_ things like that. You simply didn't do that, go out and say what you thought you felt. Juri wasn't even sure if it was just common distrust she felt. She only knew that being with her step-mom felt somehow awkward.

Again, not something you'd say out-loud.

Somehow they managed to get everything out of the car in a short period of time, but not after her dad accidentally cut himself on something. It wasn't deep, and he simply pretended like it was some sort of "war wound". Juri watched as he began trying to organize the mess that jumped from their car only to be scattered onto its roof and the ground.

Juri's brother tugged on the hem of her skirt.

"Let's play!" he said.

"Masahiko…" Juri began.

Masahiko pouted. Juri knelt down so she was almost eye-level with her brother and pulled out the dog puppet from her purse. Predictably, the young boy's eyes lit up: he loved the puppet to bits and whenever Juri needed him to pay attention, she could bring it out and his eyes would be glued on her. He reached out to pet it as she put it onto her hand and pretended to nibble at his small fingers:

"We'll play later, 'kay?" Juri said in the higher-pitched voice of the puppet. "First thing tomorrow, woof?"

Her brother tugged at the puppet's ears. "Tomorrow? Um…okay, first thing tomorrow?"

"Yep! Woof! First thing tomorrow!"

Juri snuck a glance at her father: he was ignoring them, his arm draped around his wife's shoulder. She quickly looked away. It always felt awkward when they started doing that. Like she shouldn't even be there because she'd only be excluded, getting in the way. When her stepmother tried to approach her later, Juri avoided her with the excuse she wanted to look around.

She didn't stray too far. It was getting dark and she was old enough to know it probably wasn't any safer in the country than it was in the city. She managed to sneak some food away so that she could feed Calumon. Sitting down on a fallen log, Juri slipped her backpack off, holding up her flash ight. It shone on the Rookie nestled within the backpack.

"Calumon, we're here. I got you some food," she whispered.

The Digimon blinked sleepily at her. "Food? Good food? Yummy food?"

Juri showed him the food; nothing special, some crackers, a small soda and the left-over cookies Masahiko hadn't been able to finish. It wasn't much to her, but to someone of Calumon's size, it was plenty.

"Thanks!" Calumon reached out with his paws and took the cookies. "Chocolate chip?"

"Yeah." Realizing the soda can was too big for Calumon to handle alone, Juri snapped open the lid and poured some into the small cup she brought along. "How do you feel? Not carsick of anything?"

Calumon shook his head. "I'm fine. So whatcha doing tomorrow?"

"Dunno. I guess we could look around," Juri gave the little cup to her charge. "What do you want to do?"

Calumon reached into the bag of cookies. "Let's go exploring!" he said around his mouthful.

"Sure," Juri paused and dabbed at the crumbs around Calumon's mouth. "Daddy said there's a lake or something around here, so we could go check it out."

"Juri, lights out!"

Juri looked over her shoulder; her dad was standing in the distance, waiting. "Give me a few minutes?"

"Hurry it up, it's getting late!"

Calumon quickly went through the bag of cookies and the soda. Picking up Calumon and helping him back into the backpack, Juri trotted back down the path toward her dad. He crossed his arms over his chest as she approached him.

"Look, I don't mind you wandering around a bit, but I don't want you doing it when it's this dark, okay"

Juri nodded. Her dad was normally a lot more strict. It was surprising she'd managed to wander off for as long as she had before he came looking for her. But he was in a good mood right now so she was just getting off with a brief scolding. A frown crossing his face, her father took her by the arm and steered her back toward the campsite.

"Get some sleep," he said, herding Juri into the tent she shared with her little brother.

"I will, Dad."

"That's my girl. We're going to have a big day tomorrow together, so don't stay up all night talking with your brother. Or…" here he paused. He still hadn't gotten used to the "extra" member of the family, "...or that dog puppet, alright?"

"I won't."

He helped her crawl into her sleeping bag. Her dad always tucked her in every night, no matter how late he got to work or if he was mad at her for some reason or another. Juri snuggled into her sleeping bag. It wasn't that comfortable, but Dad had worked hard to get them a vacation out of Tokyo and rocks digging into her back weren't really that big of a deal.

Her dad, still half in and out of the tent's entrance, undid her pony-tail for her and combed her hair about her shoulders.

"Juri, I know we don't get to do things as a family that often…"

Juri glanced at her brother – he was curled up in a ball, breathing softly and asleep. She kept her voice low. "Well, I mean, you've got to work, right?"

The silently reproving stare her father gave him told her she was way off the mark.

"That's not what I meant. I want you to try to give Shizue some time."

Juri suddenly wished her hand puppet was closer. Because her father wouldn't be talking about so sensitive a subject if the dog puppet was on her hand; he never was super-serious when it was close to her.

"I _am_ nice to her."

"No, you're not. You're not being fair to her, Juri."

Juri wanted to squirm under the sleeping bag. She couldn't say what she thought; that would set her dad off. This vacation meant a lot to him. Juri knew that. So she swallowed whatever she had been about to say and nodded meekly.

"I'll try to be more fair," Juri said.

Her father smiled. "Thanks. That's all I was asking for," he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead after smoothing away her bangs, as he also did every night. "Good night."

"Night, Daddy."

Her father backed out, leaving Juri to go to sleep. Sleeping out in the open was a new experience when she actually could hear the willowy scrape of the tree branches against one another in the soft breeze, the sounds of beating wings in the distance that were probably owls. There was the fact she could actually see _real_ stars from the little window in the tent instead of the golden glow of the city. And then there was the silence: no cars, no people coming in and out at odd hours. Nothing aside from the nature surrounding them and the hushed voices of her parents.

_I _was_ being fair. I didn't say anything mean to Shizue_, Juri scrunched up her face at the tent's ceiling. Juri wasn't confrontational either. She knew what some of the kids whispered about her at school, that she was "weird". Let them think what they wanted. She still had her own friends. Being called "weird" or "dorky" by strangers didn't mean anything. Unfortunately, that same approach also made her family situation a tense one.

Juri hadn't been aware she'd started listening in on the conversation outside the tent until she perked up at the mention of her name.

"- about Juri?"

_I shouldn't be listening_, Juri told herself. _Just more grown-up stuff._ None of her business.

"I don't know what to do."

A woman's voice. Shizue's, no doubt.

"It'll take time. It's not anyone's fault."

_Daddy's voice. _

Shizue sighed, "I wish I could do something. Y'know, to try to break the ice. But it's like she hates me…"

"She doesn't hate you."

"Sometimes it feels like it."

"She doesn't hate you," Juri's father repeated.

A brief silence. Juri tried to go to sleep, shutting her eyes. She hadn't drifted very far to sleep before her father spoke up:

"Don't worry. Things'll work out. We all had it rough back then; you weren't there. It's not your job to try to place yourself in that position."

A sniff. "I…can't help it. I don't want her to hate me for anything."

"She doesn't hate you, I – "

" - already said that, yes, I know."

"You're doing your best."

"I know, it's just that – "

"We'll take things slowly. Here's an idea: I can take Masahiko tomorrow hiking. You should go with Juri."

"I don't know," Shizue sighed. "Are you sure?"

"You two need time alone. Sit down and talk," a pause from Juri's father. "Her…my first wife's death hurt her back then. There are a lot of issues with Juri, with all of us. It's going to take time."

"I know…okay. I'll talk to her."

"Thanks for putting up with all this, Shizue. I know this time away from everything will really help."

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The next day was slightly overcast.

Juri woke up to find Masahiko had crawled into her sleeping bag again. He curled up into a little ball at her side, still asleep, and clutching one of the worn hand-me-down stuffed animals that once belonged to his older sister. Juri couldn't help a smile at this. Her little brother always did this whenever he couldn't sleep in his bed.

Juri sat up, brushing her loose hair back over her shoulders. Crawling carefully over her little brother, she peeped quickly outside. No one was out there. Crawling back again on her hands and knees, she went through her duffel bag and pulled out some fresh clothing. Changing into denim shorts and pulling a hoodie over her head, she stepped outside of the tent.

The air was cold on her bare legs. Juri shivered. Even in Shinjuku, early mornings still had a certain measure of warmth to them. True cold, like the stars, had been blotted out by the city for years. Still, goose-bumps or not, it was kinda nice in a weird way. She sat down on the park bench at the edge of the campgrounds, hugging her arms over her chest for warmth.

She hadn't forgotten last night's conversation. She wished she had – after her dad and Shizue went to bed, she'd stayed up late thinking. No matter what she thought about her stepmom, she never liked it when people cried, no matter the reason. It felt weird. Like it was always her fault, like she was the bad guy. _Maybe I was this time_. Juri knew she'd been intentionally giving her stepmom the cold shoulder. It seemed to make sense at the time. But when she actually heard Shizue crying like that, her logic suddenly seemed to fold in on itself.

Juri couldn't help but feel guilty. Unlike Masahiko, she still remembered her real mom; her little brother had been so young then he probably wouldn't even remember her face by the time he was his sister's age.

_Who am I fooling?_ Juri really needed time alone to think about this some more, like go for a walk. Or something. She used to do that back in Shinjuku – leave early for school, stop off at the Matsuda's bakery, walk back the long way – but it wasn't as easy to do it here. Maybe Juri could take Calumon to the lake for a bit before everyone woke up; there was a map of the campgrounds, so she could at least find that safely.

She glanced at her watch. _Wow, only seven?_ Maybe everyone would sleep late.

Apparently everyone but Shizue. Juri had just gotten up when she heard a voice behind her.

"Morning, Juri."

Juri turned around. Shizue was stepping out of their tent, wearing a green sweater and doing the same little hug for warmth Juri was. "Morning, Shizue," Juri said. It sounded a lot more irritated than she intended, so she tried again. "Um, what're you doing up this early?"

That wasn't much better, but it was a start.

Her step-mom joined her on the bench, sitting across the table. "Couldn't sleep. Have to admit I'm not used to sleeping on the ground like that."

"Oh," Juri suddenly wished she had her dog hand-puppet on her. It usually made it easier to get around awkward situations like this. But it was back in the tent and she couldn't just get up now. "It's…um…pretty hard getting used to something different."

A long pause.

Shizue sighed, looking like she was steeling herself. "Could we talk? Just the two of us?"

"We're alone right now."

"Mind if we go on a walk?" Shizue met Juri's eyes. "Please?"

"Okay."

They got up and left. Peering through the flap of the tent, Juri's dad smiled and went back to sleep.

The talk took a few hours and by the time Shizue walked Juri back, it was already past nine in the morning. The cold and the fog started to lift. The whole thing had been draining; Shizue started talking and somehow they got into a fight that ended up dying out as Juri shouted some things she'd wished she hadn't. Shizue had done the same, however. But they'd continued to talk and while it was painful, they managed to get some things out in the open.

Things she really needed to think about.

Masahiko came toddling to her as the two came back down the dirt path._ I guess this's going to have to wait. _After all, she'd promised to play with him. _Maybe tomorrow_, Juri sighed as her father announced that they were going to go hiking; after that, a big group dinner.

In fact, it wasn't until toward the end of the vacation was she able to slip away. There were only a few days before they needed to pack for the long drive back to Tokyo. During that time, they met another family out on vacation: Shizue was out talking with them, while Juri's father had taken it upon himself to cook for both families. Masahiko was completely engrossed in playing with the doggy hand-puppet Juri had lent him. Taking Calumon with her, she went down to the lake. Finally. She had to admit that yes, she was having fun, but honestly, she did need to be alone. The talk she'd had with Shizue was still bugging her; it didn't help that every now and then, Shizue would glance at her with that apprehensive look, as if waiting for some answer.

Sitting down at the shore of the lake and watching Calumon play in the clear water, Juri tried to sort things out. She'd told no one about the talk she had with Shizue the other day. Masahiko was too young to understand. And her dad – well, this just seemed something private. Both Juri and Shizue said things that were best kept between them.

_"I don't want to be a replacement, Juri!"_

Shizue hadn't been lying when she'd said that, tears brimming in her eyes. No matter what Juri wanted to believe, Shizue wasn't going to replace her real mother. She couldn't. And…Juri had been blaming her for nothing. She used to be so proud everyone said she was so fair and nice to everyone when, in fact, she really wasn't.

Calumon came splashing toward her. The little Digimon cocked his head.

"What's wrong, Juri?" Calumon asked. His oversized ears drooped sadly. "You're not having fun…."

"I'm having fun!" Juri protested. "I'm just…I guess I just need to think about some things."

"What about?" Calumon plunked down next to her. "You can tell me, I can keep secrets!"

"It's not really a secret," Juri frowned. "It's just…this isn't the sort of thing you tell a lot of people."

Calumon blinked. "Why not?"

"Well…um…it's just that..." Juri found herself stumbling. Why _shouldn't_ she talk to someone about her problems? She listened to everyone else's. She gave a nervous half-smile. "It's hard to explain. Do Digimon have parents?"

"Um…I don't think so. We don't have babies, but we have digieggs!"

Juri let Calumon climb into her lap. The Rookie settled in, eyes on her as she tried to explain her problem. She couldn't ever remember talking aloud about it. It never occurred to her before, especially not when she was busy emphasizing with everyone else. Her words came out slow: "Shizue's not my real mom – she's what we call a 'stepmother' –"

"So she's an improved mother? Like a higher step on stairs?"

Juri's cheeks flushed. "No. It doesn't work like that."

Calumon sensed he said something wrong. His ears dropped further.

"I'm sorry, Juri," his voice was very small. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"It's okay," Juri said shakily.

It hurt when Calumon had said that. But that was exactly what Juri was afraid of, that Shizue would somehow be better than her real mom. That Juri would forget what her real mother had been like. That all memories would fade away and Juri would be the one at fault.

"My mom died a few years ago, when I was young. She was very sick. I remember she always used to cough a lot even before Masahiko was born," Juri started. She could already feel her throat tighten. Her eyes burned with tears. "It got worse after he was born. She started coughing a lot more after that…"

Juri hadn't seriously thought back to those days in a long time. It'd been a lot easier to focus on pushing away Shizue. But she could still remember her mother's frame wracked with those terrible coughs. She remembered the first time she'd seen blood on her mother's palm, how her mom simply wiped it away from her hand rather than alarm her daughter.

Juri had been too young to understand what it meant. After all, her mother had been coughing for as long as she could remember. But the red splotches on her palm were new. She asked her daddy why there was blood. The expression on his face turned scary; there was so much open fear it twisted his face into a stranger's. He'd pulled Juri's mother into their room and slammed the door behind them.

After that, Juri's mother didn't leave the house often. She soon lost her job because she started collapsing at work. Tt became so frequent she couldn't get anything done with her constant blackouts. Her co-workers were sympathetic. They sent flowers and get-well cards and the little magic charms from local shrines. But no matter how many charms and cards piled up on the mantle, none of them seemed to work. Her condition worsened.

Juri watched as her mother withered away.

Her dad himself was suffering. One day, he went to the doctor's and found he developed several ulcers, probably from the stress. He had dark bags under his eyes that made him look like a ghost. He haunted the halls of their house, worrying over his wife each time she had to stagger back from the kitchen to the bedroom to rest. Not much later, he haunted the halls of the hospital with that very same look.

Masahiko was too young to remember any of this.

Unfortunately, Juri wasn't.

Her mom stayed for what seemed like forever in the hospital. Juri's afternoons weren't spent playing with other kids, but instead sitting in the plastic chairs of the waiting room, playing with a little stuffed bear and having make-believe conversations with it to pass the time. She wanted her mother to get well so they could do things together again. Her mom was about to teach her how to sew, but now the needle and thread lay on the counter, buried under the increasing hospital bills.

Young Juri tried to tell herself her mom _would_ get better. It just took a lot of naps and maybe some good warm soup. Daddy – when she saw him – said nothing. He worked longer hours now to support Mommy and the rest of the family. But when he was home and he looked at Juri, he would get that strange little expression on his face and turn away, wiping at his eyes. But even then, Juri was convinced that her mother would come back home fine with only that wracking cough.

That was before Juri visited her hospitalized mom for the first time.

Juri could still remember the stark horror she'd felt, even at that young an age, upon seeing Mommy. She'd shrunk backward into her dad at the sight of the emaciated creature lying amid the sheets. This wasn't Mommy. Her mom wasn't made of bones and sunken skin, a skeletal monster with tubes running across her rib-cage and scary machinery at her bloodless head.

The only thing stopping her from turning and running was Daddy's hand on her shoulder. He sat her down next to his wife's bed. The creature on the bed turned her head toward them, her black eyes watching them, glittering. Juri was unusually withdrawn that day, even as her mother – in-between coughing fits – talked with Daddy and tried to ask Juri how she'd been doing all this time. Juri just sat there in a miserable ball.

She left the hospital feeling a growing resentment toward this bizarre creature.

Juri knew somehow that this was Mommy. Her father saw the changes, but tried bravely to ignore them. The creature at the hospital had the same eyes and hair, although that hair was limp and starting to fall out. It thinned more and more between each visit to the creature's bed-side. Juri began to grow brave enough to converse with it, to accept the creature knew exactly the same little secrets and stories that her real mom did. Over time, she could have gotten perfectly used to this new mother.

But the underlying resentment and anger still remained.

Her last visit had been during the early weeks of spring. But the creature on the bed didn't know what day it was, much less the season. Two doctors came in to visit that day. Juri wondered aloud why they were there, but Daddy told her to hush, so she did. The little girl didn't understand the whispers over her head. But she did understand the creature was in pain. Its eyes, usually aware, were clouded. It groped blindly for her hand with its bony claws. She gave it to the creature, not without a shudder, as Daddy was led by the doctors into the hall.

"I'm…so…sor…" the creature slurred. She tried again. "I'm…sorry."

Juri watched with a kind of morbid fascination as the creature sucked in a trembling breath.

"Wa…nted…t….to get…be-e…tter…for….y…you…"

Juri tried to ease the creature's suffering by distracting her. She staged little stories with her stuffed bear, her voice rising for the bear's part and falling back into her own childish lilt. It seemed like it worked, for the creature's glassy black eyes fixed on her, a little smile forming on her cracked lips. Noticing this, Juri threw herself completely into the games of make-believe. She had to. This was as much for the creature as it was for herself.

The creature still had that forlorn smile on her face when the doctors came back. Juri looked up. Two doctors stood at the foot of the bed on either side of her dad. His expression was unreadable, his hands clenched at his side. The creature met his eyes and understood what she saw. Whatever it was, she gave the barest of nods without dropping the smile. Motioning Juri closer, the gaunt creature fought to lean over. She kissed her daughter on the forehead with the same gentleness that Juri's real Mommy used to possess.

Juri couldn't cry. But her bear could and he made crying sounds.

The creature slowly reached over and patted the bear on the head. She whispered another apology, telling the bear to be a good bear. To do what her daddy said. That things would be better, that creature was going to be sorry she couldn't be there. She was sorry she hadn't taught the bear to sew like she promised. She was sorry she hadn't been a better mother. She loved the bear, even now. She was sorry for everything.

The bear hugged the creature, whose clouded black eyes misted further with tears. She managed to stave off the next round of coughing during this, although she looked like it was going to tear her apart. Juri's father indicated their daughter should go back to the waiting room now. Juri somehow couldn't drag herself away from the creature. Mommy or not, it hurt to see her this sad, this lonely. Once Juri left, there would be no one to talk to. Staring into the button eyes of the bear for one last time and stroking its soft fur, Juri made her decision. Avoiding the creature's pitiful eyes, she placed the bear into her arms and ran away from the room.

The creature looked strangely grateful, bowing her head in acceptance. Her husband sat down at her side as one of the doctors closed the door after Juri.

That was the last time Juri saw her mother alive.

The funeral came not long after. Juri didn't remember all of it. Lots of Western black and traditional mourning whites. And a lot of unfamiliar faces saying how sorry they were. She remembered Daddy sitting down with her afterward. He tried to explain why Mommy was gone. Why the creature trapped in that bed was gone too. The young girl asked about the bear she gave to the creature. That, her father explained in a choked-up voice, had been cremated along with the creature. It was gone too.

A year passed.

Juri's father came to the realization he would have to parent for two and he became far more strict. He smoked and drank more coffee, which probably wasn't good for his ulcers, but he didn't care. Masahiko's birthday came and went with little fanfare, as did Juri's. The hole where their mom had been still gaped open. As did the financial hole from the joint costs of the hospital and the funeral, which Juri's father fought to pay.

Juri found herself almost jealous of her little brother during these times. He didn't know that things had been better. That once they had a Mommy who, despite her constant coughing, loved them. She had loved them even when she coughed blood and been somehow replaced by the pathetic creature on the bed with the same voice and cough and eyes. But to Masahiko, none of this happened. He was off in his own little world, crawling around the empty house.

Another year.

It was scarcely a few weeks after the second anniversary of the death when Shizue suddenly appeared in their lives.

"And?"

Juri had abruptly cut off from her story.

It suddenly seemed so _clear_. All of it. What she saw as the real truth made her pale.

"Um, are you okay?"

"I-I'm okay," Juri said. "It's just that these aren't good memories."

_It's not that I hate Shizue…_

Juri hadn't wanted her memories of her real mother replaced. But there was more to this than just that. That was all a convenient cover.

The secret, shameful anger she'd felt toward her real mom still existed. The whole cycle could start again. Juri wasn't so young that she could bounce back after a few years and hide behind stuffed animals and dog hand-puppets.

_I want us to be happy. _

No more creatures. No more cremations. No more death.

_I don't want to hate my mother again. _

The realization of how she acted back then, all those years ago, was a splash of cold reality. The resentment had carried through the years up till now, when she directed it toward this new, threatening stepmom. Juri had made an enemy for herself when Shizue hadn't done anything wrong. Juri had made an enemy because she _needed_ it. Shizue had been nothing but a scapegoat.

It wasn't Shizue who made it so old hurts couldn't heal. It was Juri.

_My fault._ _Everyone's learned to deal with it but me. Even Daddy's better off_.

_I forgave Mom._

Juri had blamed her for things she was only now becoming aware of. Deep down at the center of all of it was the selfish thought it wasn't _fair_. It wasn't fair the creature – no, her _mother_ – died and left Juri alone. It wasn't fair her Dad spent the days afterward stumbling about as if in a waking nightmare with bloodshot eyes. It wasn't fair Masahiko didn't even know his own real mom's name.

It wasn't fair.

But everyone had to know that. And it wasn't fair for Juri to act like she was the only one who was hurt.

All that anger, pent up inside for years and allowed to stew. A part of her actually _liked_ having an excuse to direct it at other people. But that wasn't what Juri really wanted. It wouldn't be easy to face just what kind of person she'd been up till now. But she had to take responsibility. She couldn't be arrogant anymore and let herself think that she had to play martyr -

"Juri!"

Juri blinked. "I'm sorry. I – " She didn't notice the insistence in Calumon's voice until he cut her off with a scared whisper.

"Eyes!" he cringed and pointed across the lake. "Watching us!"

Juri snapped to attention. Eyes? Where? She scanned the area. At first she didn't see them, not until the brush suddenly rippled with movement. Juri got to her feet slowly. Other hikers? And what was that strange humming? She squinted. A taunting flash of gray and a tail. Claws. Definitely not hikers. One of them floated into full view as she and Calumon stood as still as they could.

Digimon.

Calumon whimpered. "Let's get out of here."

Juri had the same idea as he did. She turned slowly to head back down the path.

Another of the Digimon blocked her path. Long tufted ears trailed from its lightly furred skull, fangs on either side of its jaws. A small lion's tail lashed out behind it as it fixed its blank silver eyes on her. One of its legs was only a gnarled stump, bent inward but still somehow supporting its weight. Overly long arms trailed on the ground. It looked almost like some kind of deranged wild rabbit. But most disconcerting of all was that weird humming sound it made; it almost sounded like mangled words. She realized it was a Gazimon, remembering her cards. A Gazimon mutated and warped and twisted in on itself.

Digimon or not, it didn't look like it wanted to be friends.

Juri broke for it and ran.

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(The present)

Juri Katou ran for her life.

Branches continued to stretch out and scratch at her. It seemed like she had been running forever, but she was starting to get tired, no matter how much adrenaline ran through her body. Behind her she could hear the ever-present hum of her pursuers. She didn't know why they were chasing her. All she knew was that she didn't want to be caught. Calumon clung to Juri as she continued to race at break-neck speed through the undergrowth. A lunge over a fallen tree trunk. Her foot came down hard in a small ditch and she almost fell. Staggering, she threw a glance behind her.

One of the humming Digimon was already in view several yards back. It ghosted right through the trees.

Up ahead, there was a burst of gray light through the thinning trunks. Juri sprinted toward them.

"Juri!"

The path abruptly ended a few feet away. She came to a stop, teetering for a terrified second before pulling back.

The ground dropped into a steep cliff side. Hundreds of feet below were a mound of rocks and roots, the result of a recent land-slide. The ground itself felt unstable and she turned to find another way.

The two Digimon blocked her way.

Juri could hear only the frantic beating of her heart. It even drowned out the high-pitched humming from the creatures floating there with their blank eyes fixed on her and Calumon. She could only hear the thunder of her heartbeat as one of the Digimon lunged at her. Rolling, heavy thuds in her ears as she instinctively backed away -

And went backward over the cliff.

Juri wasn't sure if she was screaming. She probably was. A faint voice told her to let Calumon go – he could fly – and she felt her fingers relaxing from around the Rookie's little stomach.

_I'm going to die._

Heartbeats all around her as she plummeted toward the boulders below.

Yet for some reason, all Juri could think of was her realization. She was going to die without ever trying to make amends. Without taking responsibility for what she did.

The real truth…

Juri had to let go of that selfish little part of her.

_My family!_

_Another chance!_ _Please!_

Without warning, there was a violent flurry of green leaves behind her. Through her tears, Juri see the blur of green winding around her falling body in a spiral. The wind whipped the other direction. Suddenly she wasn't falling anymore as she settled into something both soft and hard. In fact, she was now rapidly moving upward with the whirlwind.

Dazed, Juri looked up. She was nestled in the crook of someone's arm. Someone's _big _arm. Her eyes widened as she took in her rescuer.

He was no human. A Digimon himself, he looked nothing like the ones that sent her plunging off the cliff. A thick mane ran from his proud brow to the nape of his neck. She could feel his powerful muscles flexing as he ascended into the air through the hurricane. Scattered scars covered a dull orange hide. His lion's face was stern and, she noticed with relief, didn't hold that scary blankness the Digimon from before had. Her rescuer's fierce blue eyes flicked to her for a second and then away.

"Juri!" Calumon was hovering outside of the leaves, his winged ears extended. "You're okay!"

She didn't have time to reply, however. The Digimon shifted her easily to his other elbow as he landed easily on the cliff. The enemy Digimon didn't even have time to attack or even flee. In a motion so quick she wasn't even sure she saw it, her rescuer whipped his blade from out of the sheath at his back. It plunged into the head of the first Digimon. It carved a graceful arc through the second one's neck.

The two Digimon vanished like they never existed as her rescuer sheathed his sword with a fluid motion.

Silence.

Juri was aware of the lion-Digimon watching her now and she flushed. "T-thank you," she stammered.

He nodded. Any doubts she had about him being able to speak were laid to rest as he opened his mouth and a low, rumbling voice came out.

"You're welcome."

Calumon dived into Juri's arms, chattering so quickly she could barely understand him. Her rescuer watched the little Rookie with an almost amused expression on his snout. He waited until the two calmed down before speaking up again.

"What's your name, young one?"

Juri glanced at Calumon. Young one? Oh. He meant her. "Um," she found she had a hard time remembering; she was so awestruck that she stumbled over her words. "Juri Katou. This's Calumon."

"Leomon," her rescuer gestured at himself.

Juri nodded wordlessly. Somehow she couldn't stop staring at Leomon. He was like some hero out of those old stories her mom used to read.

_Mom…_

Juri found tears burning. Her mom; frail, dying, but strong in other countless ways until the end. Juri had hated her for selfish reasons. She had been too blind to understand how it must have felt when your own daughter pretended not to shun you.

_What kind of person am I?_

And here…here was this pillar of strength before her. Like some kind of last wish from the dying creature in the hospital bed.

Juri couldn't see anymore as the first sob shook her small frame. Why hadn't she tried to be there for her mom more when she'd been visiting? Why had she done that?

_Why did I hate her?_

_I loved her._

_So why did I do such a horrible thing to her?_

Juri felt a large paw on her shoulder. She looked up through her tears. Leomon had knelt down next to her, Calumon looking close to crying himself at her distress from his perch on the larger Digimon's shoulder.

Juri didn't want to lose Shizue like she lost her real mother.

Juri felt her tears trickling warm trails down her cheek as she wrapped her arms around Leomon's waist and cried. Leomon exchanged worried looks with Calumon and awkwardly rested one large paw on her head, patting her on the back as she sobbed into his soft fur. Even when as the sobs died down to sniffles, she remained where she was, drained.

Her mom was dead. No matter how much Juri cried for her now, she wasn't coming back. She couldn't apologize for what happened years ago. It wouldn't help if she could – the damage had already been done.

But…now Juri had a second chance.

Leomon was trying his best to comfort this strange little human. He didn't know exactly why she was crying, but he felt he had to do something. The Champion found himself awkwardly murmuring to Juri, saying she was going to be alright now, that the Golems were gone, that she wasn't alone. That there was no need to cry. Don't cry, he said. He was careful to be gentle when he patted her on the back; humans were frail and he didn't want to kill the girl he'd just saved.

"You can be strong," Leomon said as Juri sniffed.

_I have to be. Everyone else is strong…_

"I know," Juri said, voice muffled by Leomon's fur.

"The world - Digital or Real - isn't going to end right now," Leomon told her. He offered a smile.

Juri sat back slowly. She wiped at one eye with the back of her hand.

"You're still here. That should be enough."

Juri wiped away the last of her tears. She smiled through them.

"Thank you, Leomon."

He stood up as Juri did the same. She could see that he wanted to ask her questions, but thankfully, he kept them to himself for the time being. He explained a bit how he got here, that he was sent by his mentor to help the new Chosen Children, but that he heard a desperate voice calling for him. Juri listened to his explanation; he was a good story-teller, and made what would have probably gone over her head understandable. Juri could've stayed with him all day – an hour had passed into another before she realized that she would have to return to her family. Her father and Shizue were waiting, as was Masahiko. She'd been gone so long that they were going to start looking for her if she didn't return soon.

Leomon understood this. He promised to remain in the area since he still had much he wanted to ask her. Not only that, but he was concerned the Golems – the creatures she and Calumon ran into – would come back. The warrior waved with one large paw as Juri disappeared back into the forest.

She got back without any problems. Returning to the clearing, Juri stopped at the sight of her family in the afternoon's orange glow. Masahiko was playing with the other campers' twins, waving the dog-puppet at them. Daddy was setting the park table with paper cups and plates, laughing as the father of the other family, a round, mustached man in his fifties, told some kind of joke with a dramatic sweep of his hand. Shizue had been standing to the side by Juri's tent, looking pensive.

Looking at them all like this, it felt like something changed. She felt lighter.

"Juri!"

Shizue spotted her and came rushing over. At the last moment she remembered to keep her distance. She gave Juri a nervous look, biting her lip.

Juri flashed her a true smile.

_I don't hate you. _

Her stepmother tentatively returned the smile. Her face lit up.

_I don't hate my real mother._

Juri let Shizue fuss over the scratches and forming bruises on her legs. Shizue immediately began talking, wondering where she got them, asking if they hurt, apologizing because they hadn't brought any band-aids and saying that she could ask the other family if they had any. She would try to wash Juri's cuts, if that was okay with her.

Shizue ran off to get a water bottle and a towel, leaving Juri sitting on the cooler in the afternoon light. Juri watched her stepmom go. Shizue would never be like her mother. It was impossible. But Juri could grow used to Shizue and that was what really mattered, wasn't it? Letting her gaze wander, Juri thought she saw a glimpse of orange fur, a lion's tail through the trees.

_Still here…_

_Still another chance._

**Fin**  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	21. The Waltz of Wolves

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Long chapter. Hardly any Juggernaut or Takato. I had to shift all those parts for the next chapter since this one was getting ridiculously long. The focus will be eventually shifting more from the Juggernaut to Jenrya and Ryo.

Again. Reviews are very much appreciated.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
**Bold**for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(The Waltz of Wolves)

Several days passed in silence. The number of Golems didn't increase; if anything, their numbers shrank and for a short period of time, people were able to live without fear of the alien lights. Those days went quickly. The human children with Digimon moved into different sectors. Once two of them went back to Odaiba's harbor. The next stage drew closer even as the uneasy silence stretched.

The Juggernaut watched and waited.

The barrier forming around Tokyo by now enveloped most of its sectors. Odaiba, Ueno, Akihabara, Kasumigaseki, and Shinjuku, among others, were all already under it. Over 80 percent of Tokyo's entire area was covered. But the barrier hadn't reached its binding points yet, which gave the supercomputer plenty of time to make preparations for _that_. The Juggernaut made sure to reinforce the building with cables and materials it pillaged from its surrounding skyscrapers, worming its way underground and pulling what it needed. The earthquake would easily topple its neighbors, but the Hypnos headquarters wouldn't be reduced to rubble.

After all, having the entire tower collapse on top of it wasn't an option to the Juggernaut.

Even being located so far underground didn't mean that it wasn't going to take the necessary precautions. That much weight – with that much force – could easily reach the lower levels and damage important machinery. Parts that couldn't be easily replaced could be lost. Complete control over some of the sectors like Shinjuku and Ueno could be compromised, leaving "blind spots" where targets could roam freely without the Juggernaut being aware of their activities. Then there were other precautions that needed to be taken for future events. It had received news from its Creator that the Council in the Digital World, after some initial misgivings, appointed the Juggernaut as the Sword.

Which meant that the Juggernaut would be able to attack openly. But it also meant that it would leave itself more open, in turn, to retaliation. The chances of something unfavorable happening were…miniscule. Beyond even that. Something Takato Matsuda wouldn't have bothered with if he'd been left to make the decision purely on his own.

It was fortunate the Will wasn't the dominant one.

The probability that anything would happen during the impending earthquake that would tear through Tokyo was extremely small. The Juggernaut did everything possible to ensure it would be well protected. But…it would look into the other options. There were no facilities outside of Tokyo that could accommodate all its programs and such in one bundle. But in pieces, compressed packets, even the common household computer could be put to use.

Monitoring the progress of the barrier forming around Tokyo, the Juggernaut began to select the easiest of its data to work with and began copying and preparing it for compression. Most likely a pointless gesture since all calculations pointed to complete success of its duties and – more importantly – its continued survival. As a machine, the Juggernaut was used to performing tasks that didn't always seem to serve a purpose. This was no different.

Two days.

Two days and five hours remained before Zudomon's barrier completed itself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo had another one of those dreams.

Jenrya wished he knew what they were about. It wasn't like Ryo remembered. It was obvious from his quickened breaths as Ryo bolted up from the couch – scaring the living daylights out of Jenrya, who'd been watching TV – that it was one of those nightmares again. The other boy stared blankly at Jenrya without seeing him, chest heaving, his black eyes wide. Long seconds passed before Ryo finally came to himself. Without meeting Jenrya's gaze, he turned around and went back to sleep.

That was a few hours ago.

Jenrya woken up to find Ryo was already up. The Tamer rolled over in his bed, hearing the sounds of the other boy moving about the apartment. The quiet clatter of dishes, a cabinet slamming closed. Good lord, what time was it? Jenrya groped for his clock through the early morning's darkness, feeling Terriermon shifting in his sleep at the foot of the bed, and turned the display toward him. It was barely five in the morning and Ryo was already up. Did he ever get any sleep?

Probably not. Less and less especially since Ryo kept waking up in a cold sweat like earlier.

Jenrya lay face-first in his bed and tried to calculate how many hours Ryo was down and out on average. Under five hours a night, easily. Five was even being generous. At five, Ryo probably thought he was sleeping far too late. Today, he hit barely four hours. _Great. So he's an insomniac too. _

Jenrya sighed into his pillow, wanting to flop back to sleep. Most kids weren't up at weird hours in the morning like this. This was insane. Not everyone could survive on four hours of sleep over and over like that. Sooner or later this was gonna up on Ryo. It was only a matter of when, he thought.

Still, now that he was up, he wasn't going back to sleep.

Jenrya groaned at this but dragged himself out of bed. Still wearing an old t-shirt with faded green stripes across the front and his boxers, he shuffled out of his room and down the hall, trying to rub sleep from his eyes. He entered the dimly lit living living room.

Ryo was sitting by the window, half-heartedly eating a bowl of cold cereal and sitting on the sill, one bare knee up against the cool glass. He was still wearing the black tank-top and shorts he borrowed from Jenrya as makeshift pajamas. The Tamer could see the edges of the ugly scars covering Ryo's side peeping through the tank-top, but he pretended not to see them. He didn't want to get into another fight over those, especially this early in the morning.

The taller boy looked up as Jenrya staggered into the living room.

"Morning," Ryo said around his spoon.

Jenrya flicked a helpless glance outside. It was still dark.

"Ryo, it's five in the morning."

"I know."

"Five. In the _morning_," Jenrya repeated.

"I got you the first time. Sorry about waking you up."

Jenrya sat down heavily across from Ryo, following the other boy's gaze. Shinjuku was usually a lot brighter than this. Lights used to dot the cityscape outside the apartment high-rise like millions of false stars. The sky itself used to have an orange sheen from the light pollution. Now it was muted. There were splotches of black throughout West Shinjuku – and the rest of Tokyo surrounding it - where they hadn't been able to restore power. It sent a chill up his spine as he realized again how much things changed over the course of a couple of weeks.

"You talked with your dad about the Digimon, right?" Ryo asked.

Jenrya reached over and stole Ryo's spoon. He used it to swirl the cereal around before taking a casual bite. Way too soggy from sitting around in the milk for too long. Ryo had barely touched the food.

"I told him a little. He knows we're serious. I think he said he'd call Mom and get her out of Tokyo."

"Good."

"I heard from Alice and Ruki about Odaiba. Zudomon went back into hiding in the harbor, but that weird blue energy is still coming out from the water. They want us to go take a look ourselves."

"We can't go together."

"I know. I was thinking I could go with Ruki, and you could pair up with Alice."

Ryo went silent at this. Jenrya took another experimental bite of the cereal, made a face, and set the spoon back into the bowl. It hadn't miraculously improved since the last time he tried the soggy mess. Jenrya looked up, noticing the other boy's pensive expression.

"What's your deal with her?" Jenrya frowned. "You've been giving her evil eyes ever since she showed up."

"I dunno. Something about her bugs me."

"Paranoia much?"

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Very funny. I'm busting my gut laughing."

"Fine, be like that."

"I think I will, thanks," Ryo replied lightly. The corners of his lips turned up in a smile. It vanished as quickly as it appeared as he turned serious again. "What I think about her doesn't matter – she seems like she knows what she's talking about with the whole D-Reaper thing. I can deal if she bugs me."

"Are you sure? I mean, if you want, we could switch places."

"Pretty sure I'll live."

Jenrya nodded. While he hadn't gotten any straight answers out of Ryo – it sounded like Ryo himself didn't know why he didn't care for Alice – at least the air between them cleared a little bit. It wasn't like when they first met in class. Ryo looked down at the cereal bogged down in milk and made the same face Jenrya had minutes ago. But unlike the Tamer, Ryo simply picked up the spoon with his uninjured hand and continued to eat the soggy cereal robotically.

Ryo went to wash the bowl out. Jenrya twisted in his seat to watch him, resting his chin on the couch's arm. A squeak of a faucet and water rushed from the kitchen sink. For a while, Jenrya was content to watch and let his thoughts wander.

Ryo had been watching the city the night before too, when Jenrya first turned on the TV to watch the news. There hadn't really been that much on the news, at least not anything he didn't know about. The newscasters were talking about the recent string of disappearances in Shinjuku. People were suddenly vanishing into thin air. No one really knew why. It was mainly a lot of speculation without real evidence. One guest came on the air to place the blame on the lights that used to appear nightly in the sky, saying they were abductions. One of the newscasters asked if it was an alien invasion. Everyone laughed but it felt tense. Forced. _Come to think of it, I haven't seen as many of the Golems as before_, Jenrya realized.

But whether that was a good thing, or just a lull, Jenrya couldn't say.

Still, he had to be optimistic about this. Before, it was only him, Terriermon, Ruki and Renamon. They knew practically nothing about what was going on before Ryo and Alice, with Dobermon, arrived. It helped to know he wasn't alone. But even with the extra help, it seemed like they brought more questions than anything else.

_ Those things that attacked Ryo earlier. And went after Ruki and Alice when we got attacked by Black Growlmon…_

Something about those was important. There had to be some link.

Dobermon, Renamon and Ryo all agreed the silent attacker wasn't a Digimon, nor were the cables being controlled by one. Ruki and Alice also tried to help, but all they could do was describe the attacker's behavior, nothing else the others hadn't already touched on. Jenrya tried to imagine what could animate objects like that. It didn't control everything, obviously. Houses weren't leaping at them. The tunnel hadn't tried to eat Ruki and Alice that night. Neither had the doors locked Ryo and Jenrya in during Black Growlmon's ambush.

Phone wires. Gas lines. The others identified a few other types, among them what looked like the power lines from some of the newer ones installed underground to conserve space.

_ Okay. So what they've got in common is they're all connected to something. All these lines run in a network all over Shinjuku and the rest of __Tokyo._

Jenrya frowned to himself. All of the wires and such were controlled by an electrical source. But if the source was attacking them, then... Jenrya didn't even know where he was going with this. It felt like he was running in circles, chasing after some bait blind-folded without knowing who – or what - was at the other end.

But there was some kind of connection. Something they should look into.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki hadn't told her family about everything yet.

Renamon was ready to show herself when she did, but each time Ruki tried, it seemed like one thing or another came up. First her grandmother got a cold – she couldn't be bothered since she slept most of the time. And then it was Rumiko rushing out for photoshoots before everyone was awake. Renamon was starting to get worried; while she hadn't been able to speak face-to-face with Ruki's family, that didn't mean she didn't care about their well-being.

No matter how Ruki acted, Renamon knew those two were important to her.

_ I'll have to speak with Ruki about this_. The blue aura above Tokyo still grew. All the more reason to be concerned.

Renamon spent the night about Shinjuku searching for Black Growlmon. She had talked to Dobermon a little; the other Digimon agreed to go with her, giving them more of chance to feel each other out. Dobermon was of the impatient sort – quick to anger, unwilling to wait for others when he thought he could do the job himself. But he genuinely cared about his "charge" (for some reason he always called Alice this), and he had complete faith in his mission. The way he fought was rather elegant, which was surprising considering how hot-headed he could get on certain subjects. Renamon believed he could be depended on future battles.

Renamon and Dobermon returned to the site of the ambush. The damage was still there, the ground missing where those metal tentacles attacked. The street was torn up so heavily in some places that the gaping holes extended dozens of feet underground. Naked electricity sparked and spat, but nothing moved. Some humans had set up some yellow tape blocking the area off, but other than that, it hadn't been touched. Dobermon caught Black Growlmon's scent at the other end of the tunnel. They followed it for several miles before having to give up and call it a night.

The sun rose. Gold shone through Renamon's fur as she stood on the roof. Dobermon remained asleep in the shadows of the yard, hidden behind the little family shrine no one visited anymore. Sunlight crept over the horizon.

Normally Renamon would welcome this new sunrise. The light now had an eerie, green tint as the sun peeked through the faint blue of the shimmering barrier thousands of feet above Shinjuku. The uneasy feeling had multiplied to the point she looked back on Impmon's flight and saw it in a different light, honorable or not. It suddenly seemed like a rather good idea and she couldn't blame Impmon for having that rather uncharacteristic foresight to do what most people – and Digimon – hadn't.

_ At the very least, Ruki should go. Whatever happens when that barrier finishes spreading, it's going to be too dangerous. _

But Renamon knew her partner better than that.

Ruki simply didn't run away. It wasn't her.

There was activity from the house and Renamon faded out from her perch to appear near Ruki's bedroom. Both Alice and Ruki were up. Ruki turned to find toward Renamon.

"No luck?"

Renamon stared down her snout at her Tamer. "We found a scent, but we couldn't follow it very far. It was too old of a trail."

Alice began pulling her blonde hair up into her customary pig-tails. Her face, as usual, was expressionless.

"We need to keep looking. Or we could always wait until Black Growlmon attacks us."

"We'll keep looking," Ruki said. "My mom hasn't left work yet, so I want to talk to her first."

Renamon nodded solemnly. Good! There were other matters they could move onto now. She had already located several places where Rumiko and her mother could hide underground. Considering how intelligent the Golems were – based on her own observations – they probably would remain hidden safely there. Renamon was willing to bring Ruki's family there, but she couldn't simply waltz in and expect them to accept her with open arms. It was up to her partner now.

The two girls finished dressing. Ruki promised to keep Renamon informed of the situation before leaving the room.

Renamon sat down on her haunches and prepared to wait.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki found her mother preparing coffee in the kitchen. Alice remained in the doorway, thinking it better to let Ruki do the talking rather than a complete stranger. Rumiko had been waiting for the coffee to stop dripping, staring out the kitchen window as if she was looking for something, her face drawn in puzzled concentration. She turned, coffee mug in her hand, at Ruki's approach.

"Ruki, shouldn't you be off to school?" Rumiko asked in surprise. Her eyebrows drew together. "I don't want you ditching again."

Ruki sat down at the kitchen table. It was one of the few Western influences in the Makino house, with tall legs and chairs, the kind that felt more like an overgrown school desk than anything else. "I've got something more important than school right now," Ruki said. "Where's Grandma?"

"Still in bed. Why?"

"She needs to hear what I've to say too," Ruki said. "Alice, could you wake her up?"

"Ruki, she's still sick!" Rumiko protested.

Rumiko glanced helplessly over her daughter's shoulder. Alice had disappeared before she could stop her. Just what was this all about? Who exactly was the adult here? Rumiko frowned. Her daughter was taking this too far – she _knew_ her grandmother was still ill and needed all the rest she could get.

"Ruki, this is too far," Rumiko began. "I let you make a lot of decisions in the past because I didn't want to be a control-freak. But you can't go dragging people out of their beds like this!"

"I can't wait for her right now."

"Whatever it was, it could have waited a few days."

Ruki was stubborn. "No, it couldn't."

"It could too," Rumiko said, and, realizing she was about to starting to sound like a kid, continued, "You don't go around deciding when people are healthy or not, Ruki."

"I can't wait for her," Ruki repeated.

"She's your _grandmother_!" Rumiko exploded. "Why don't you ever stop and think about the rest of us for a change?!"

Ruki stared at her, lips parted in a small "o" of surprise at her mother's outburst. Rumiko's hands flew to her mouth. She hadn't meant to shout like that. Blushing, she looked away from her daughter. Taking a few seconds to calm herself down, she met Ruki's eyes. Rumiko saw grudging respect, as if Ruki was astonished to find her mother wasn't all about dresses and high heels. Rumiko knew she should be angry at that realization, but she swallowed the urge down. It was bad enough she lost her temper.

"Ruki, what I'm trying to say is not all of us run at the same pace you do," Rumiko said at length. "I know we don't share any common interests. I'm not there for you as much as I should be. I _want_ to be there."

Ruki said nothing, but the hard expression on her face was all that was needed.

"Maybe I haven't been as good of a mom as I need to be, but that doesn't give you any excuse to treat your grandmother like that," Rumiko narrowed her eyes. "Please give her the respect she deserves."

Ruki was silent for a moment. This time she listened – not like the other times where Rumiko tried to half-heartedly scold her in the past. Her daughter bowed her head, her expression softening. Rumiko expected a retort or more sarcasm.

"I'm sorry," Ruki said. She looked down at the table, tracing the grains in the wood with a finger. What she said next was obviously hard for her to admit, "I get impatient. Maybe I've been too hard on everyone."

"Maybe you have."

"Maybe. But we can talk about our family problems later," she paused as Alice returned, walking slowly and helping Ruki's grandmother into the kitchen. The older woman didn't seem to need it though, and sat down at the table after shooing Alice away. "We've got bigger problems."

With obvious reluctance, Rumiko sat down at the kitchen table with the others after pouring another cup of coffee for her mom. Ruki waited until everyone was settled in before launching into her story.

The Tamer started with the most important fact: everyone here was in danger. They all needed to abandon the house and seek shelter. Immediately. At least within the day as soon as she got into contact with some friends of hers about evacuating. But anything above ground probably wasn't safe, so she and these friends of hers were looking into places for everyone to hide in until the danger passed. They should just pack what they needed – like a lot of food, clothing, water – and leave everything else that couldn't be moved.

Rumiko was about to protest, but it was Ruki's grandmother who interrupted first, slamming her cup down. A few drops of coffee leapfrogged over the rim and splattered onto table's surface. Everyone jumped.

"Leave? We've lived here for years. Leaving is out of the question!"

Alice broke in, her voice cool. "It's for your safety. It's better to risk losing a house than your lives."

"From what? What's so dangerous?" Rumiko asked.

"I'm getting to that," Ruki answered impatiently.

Ruki continued on. She went backward, talking about the lights in the sky, describing what they really were. Golems were probably responsible for the mass disappearances that had plagued Tokyo recently, the reason why the numbers kept increasing after each night. Maybe why people weren't showing up for school or work. No one really knew why they were there since they appeared out of the blue.

At that point, Ruki knew it was sink or swim. She rushed to the beginning. The cause of all this was Digimon – no, they _weren't_ just a game, she said before Rumiko could say anything. As far as she knew, there were two Worlds – the Real and Digital. Humans lived in the Real one, Digimon in the Digital. For the most part, the Digimon kept to their own world. But every now and then, one would cross over. It used to be a small problem. But somehow things changed and they were going to come over in large numbers. What made it worse was that they were more than likely going to be hostile.

"Ruki, look. I don't know what to say but…"

"It's true, Ms. Makino," Alice turned her ice-blue eyes on her. "There has been recorded Digimon activity for years now, with reports from as far back as the ENIAC days."

Rumiko had no idea what that was. Ruki's grandmother had the same expression.

"Not all Digimon are against us," Ruki said. "Some of them are on our side – they protect us and help us. They're our partners."

Here Ruki paused – whether it was for theatrics or not, Rumiko couldn't tell. All she knew was she had a downright flabbergasted expression on her face when a strange creature suddenly materialized behind her daughter's chair. The model was half out of her seat in surprise.

The proud creature stood as tall as she did, if not taller, on its hind legs. Its – His? Her? - hide rippled with golden fur. _Does it even have a gender?_ Rumiko wondered in a daze. Fluffs of soft white fur dotted it on its chest and stomach. The paws crossed over the creature's chest were decidedly humanoid, tipped with stubby black claws and purple-dyed cloth gauntlets with the ying-yang emblem across the back of the knuckles. Whatever it was, it wasn't human: its face extended into a sleek fox's snout, a bushy tail sweeping at its ankles. Long pointed ears turned this way and that in alertness. Although it looked like an animal, keen intelligence shone in its alien eyes.

"Mother," Ruki said calmly. "Meet Renamon, my partner."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So how'd it go?"

Ruki's voice on the other end of the phone bordered on wry. "As well as dumping a Digimon into your mom's lap could possibly go."

"So what're they going to do?" Jenrya asked after switching the receiver to another ear.

"I don't know. They're grilling Renamon right now."

Jenrya had to smile at this. The mental image of Renamon in a chair with a single light focused on her face as Ruki's mom and grandmother circled about like cops in some old movie was too downright weird _not_ to be funny. Wisely he kept it to himself. Off in the distance, the school bell tolled. Classes were already starting.

"I gotta go. We'll talk later."

"Have fun. I know I won't."

Jenrya hung up. In all honesty, he didn't envy Ruki's position. It had been pure luck Dad was an easier sell…although he still could taste the bitter failure he experienced with the Matsudas. That attempt tripped and fell right on its face before it had a chance to step through the door. After Jenrya got back home after the disaster with Takato's parents, he'd locked himself in the room, avoiding Ryo and Terriermon's questioning looks. He just didn't know what to do with the Matsudas. _They'll be okay_, Jenrya promised himself. He wasn't going to give up on everything like that.

Leaning against the wall next to the payphone Jenrya used to call the other Tamer, Ryo glanced at him, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Finished with the pillow-talk?"

It was Jenrya's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, right. We're late for school."

"Why do we even bother? Let's start ditching."

Jenrya didn't have an answer for that. Terriermon asked the same question earlier. Jenrya didn't want to tell him that if he gave up one of the solid things in his life…well, he didn't know. Something about the schedule of going to school day in and day out seemed to have a stabilizing effect.

School work or not, he'd rather think about something else rather than Digimon all the time.

He didn't want to obsess over it, like Ryo.

Jenrya dove into the group project with Hirokazu once class started. The teacher today was a substitute again, since Mr. Mori hadn't shown up for the past two days. Jenrya wondered if this had anything to do with the Golems. He hoped not.

The day passed way more quickly than he would have personally liked. Ryo got in trouble for falling asleep in class. The substitute hadn't liked that at all, hitting him with detention. He was going to have to stay and take over the day's cleaning duties, she said in front of the class, her mouth pursed. Jenrya groaned inwardly. He was going to have to stay behind too since he couldn't leave Ryo alone. It'd be too tempting for those wire-things to strike. Wonderful. Jenrya sighed.

Ryo stared out the window, barely pretending to listen to the lesson.

Jenrya could still hear kids running down the halls as he stepped into the empty classroom. It didn't take ong to catch up with Ryo; the other boy was now sweeping under the desks and looking like he was bored out of his mind. He looked up and gave a little sarcastic wave. Outside, the school yard sparkled from the recent rains, sunlight reflecting off puddles. The clouds continued to hang overhead.

Jenrya let Terriermon sit on his lap as he watched Ryo make his away around the linoleum floor with the broom. Terriermon insisted on coming with him everywhere now. If something happened, it might take too long to reach Jenrya. Those few seconds (or minutes) might actually make the difference, Terriermon reasoned. Personally, Jenrya suspected he'd say anything to get out of playing with Shuichon.

The Rookie watched Ryo for a few minutes before speaking up.

"Hey, Ryo?" Terriermon asked.

Ryo looked up from near the window. The broom paused. "What?"

"Where'd you get those?" Terriermon pointed with his small paw at his face.

Ryo reached up in reaction and touched the outline of a scar under his eye, and the three earrings he on his left ear. "What, these?"

"Yeah."

Ryo went back to sweeping. It couldn't hurt to talk about it. It wasn't like Terriermon was asking about the big scar and anyway, it was obvious Jenrya hadn't told anyone else what he saw. His opinion regarding the Tamer rose up a few notches higher. Nice to know he could keep his promises. Feeling in a relatively good mood, Ryo touched his left ear, pointing at the earrings: two circular studs in his lower ear, a small square clip on the upper rim. All three were made of the same strange metal that broke up his human's ear shape.

"The earrings I got from the Digital World. I had to wear some weird clothing to make myself look closer to a Digimon. Y'know, rags, fake claws we jury-rigged from metal, stuff like that. My hair grew out since there wasn't any barbers there," Ryo shrugged. "There are some humanoid Digimon out there. So long as I did whatever I could to look less human, I didn't get stopped too much."

"But when you did, what happened?" Terriermon pressed, leaning forward.

"Not much. Cyb –" Ryo cut himself off, instead saying, "It didn't happen often."

Terriermon was about to pry further into the matter but he only squeaked as Jenrya poked him in the side. Nose twitching in protest, Terriermon looked up with indignation at him. Ryo, busy with finishing his detention chores, missed the warning look Jenrya gave his partner. Terriermon pouted but behaved.

Jenrya and Terriermon watched as Ryo finished cleaning and put the broom away into the closet. The bunny-Digimon waited until he came back before asking, "What about that scar?"

"It's a really stupid story," Ryo actually grinned at this, shaking his head as he remembered something embarrassing. "I didn't really know anything about the Digital World back then. It was my first year, so I was still picking stuff up as we traveled West. I got my fake claws and I was talking. Forgot I had them on. I got this crazy itch on my face so I went up to scratch it –"

Terriermon burst out laughing. Jenrya couldn't help but smile himself. "Is this going where I think it is?" he asked.

Ryo shot the two of them a wounded look. "I seriously forgot about them. I went up to scratch and I nearly took out my eye."

Terriermon snickered. Jenrya didn't laugh as openly as his partner did, but his gray eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Hey, _I_ wasn't laughing when it happened. I thought I really nailed my eye since there was all this blood," Ryo said. His voice was strangely wistful, "It ended up looking worse than it was. This," Ryo pointed at the scar under his eye, "was the deepest of them. The others are pretty faint, so you can't really see them anymore. But for a while, it looked like got a rake to my face or something."

Terriermon choked down another laugh, picturing this in his head. The bunny-Digimon managed to keep his snickering behind his paws this time as Jenrya tried to be at least more sympathetic.

"That must've hurt," Jenrya said. "Did anyone notice?"

"What, that I had all these gashes all over my face? Yeah. Everyone thought they were war wounds or something. I, uh, never bothered to correct them."

"A…_war wound_…" That was too much for Terriermon. "From _what_ war? The one between your fist and your face?"

Ryo snorted. "Yeah right. Like I had a chance in that one."

Jenrya laughed for the first time in a while at this. His laughter was contagious and soon Terriermon was laughing all over again. Even Ryo couldn't help a little chuckle at this – his own laughter wasn't sarcastic or self-deprecating as it usually was. He still remembered that incident in clear detail. The fact he'd been scared half to death when he realized what happened, how his cheek went ablaze with pain only to go frighteningly numb later. The next few days he spent with his face encased in crude bandages that were clumsily applied by his partner. Ryo downplayed that part in his re-telling.

But Ryo couldn't remember actually laughing like that in…well, years.

Since Ryo finished cleaning up the classroom, he was essentially free to go. He closed the door behind him as Jenrya and Terriermon waited in the hall. They decided after the second call on the payphone with Ruki that they would meet up at her school; Alice was gone out on some errand, so she wouldn't be there. They'd meet up with her at the park where Guilmon's old shelter was. Jenrya sighed at the mention of this. He still blamed himself for what happened with Black Growlmon, which was stupid since Ryo knew Jenrya only beating himself up over it, again.

It was Takato who was the problem. He had to be the one responsible.

The more Ryo thought about it, the more he realized how the missing Tamer kept cropping up in all of this, whether through just mentions of his name to his partner running rampant to an imposter wearing his face. Weird. The whole incident with Black Growlmon a few days ago had convinced him that his "change" wasn't accidental. Wherever Takato was, he'd been put in a bad way on purpose. Black Growlmon was just a puppet's puppet, dangling on another's jerking strings.

A depressing thought, but Ryo made habit of collecting those.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki found herself doodling in her notebook. Unlike Takato, she couldn't call herself an artist. Drawing wasn't her thing. It wasn't active enough. Doing it when you were bored out of your mind was another thing. The teacher wasn't even pretending to pay attention to her class, her back turned as she wrote some poem on the green chalk-board no one would remember by the end of class. Ruki's pen scratched along her paper in mindless circles.

_ Can't believe Mom _still_ made me go to school!_ After the whole fit with Renamon _appearing_ right behind her – Ruki told her to it was "okay to come in now", not "appear like you're a ninja" – the Tamer thought she wouldn't have to go. Especially since her grandma and mom, after picking their jaws from off the floor, went gone into a group huddle and then pounced on Renamon. Ruki thought she saw a glimmer of panic in her partner's face as the two women immediately converged on Renamon, sat her down and began firing off question after question. Renamon was really one of these…"Digimon"? Was she trustworthy? How long had she been with Ruki?

The questioning ("interrogation" seemed like a better word) lasted for the good part of an hour. At that point, Ruki sat down in the living room and waited with Alice, leaving her backpack in the kitchen. She'd never seen her mom so serious. Usually it was Grandma who was the one setting down the rules in the house. Today Rumiko seemed to forget about her career and everything else.

Ruki didn't know what to think. Now her mom was stubbornly set on making sure Renamon was a suitable companion for her daughter. Ruki glanced over toward the kitchen. From here she could see Renamon's tail and her back, Rumiko standing to the side with her arms planted firmly on her hips as if she was a cop, her beautiful model's face currently turned down in a frown.

Alice busied herself during by asking Ruki about events in Tokyo. She asked about Takato, Jenrya, their Digimon, the kind of details surveillance alone couldn't account for and personal association could. She sounded troubled as Ruki told her about Takato's disappearance, and Guilmon acting strangely. About how days later, a blue-eyed Takato attacked her during a battle and stolen the real Takato's D-Arc. But it was when she started asking about Ryo that Alice sounded the most concerned, although she tried to hide it as best she could. Ruki knew probing when she saw it, especially to the questions after the phone call from Jenrya.

"You never heard of him?" Alice asked.

"Aside from his whole card game deal? No."

"So you never met him before this?"

"Nope," Ruki answered, wondering where this was going. "The only tournament I heard he went to around here was one I ended up missing because I got sick."

The foreigner tilted her head. "I see…Have you noticed anything strange regarding Ryo?"

"Like?"

Alice only shrugged.

"Why don't you ask Jenrya? He's around him all the time," Ruki replied. "What's with all the questions?"

Alice was silent for a second before answering. "Just satisfying my curiosity. I prefer to know who I'm going to be working with."

Ruki was left with that enigmatic remark before her mom came back. Rumiko sat down on the floor with the two girls and let out an explosive breath that fluttered her bangs up from her face. The model rubbed at her eyes with her manicured hands, as if still unable to believe her eyes. It made sense, considering she'd been forced to accept Digimon were real, that her own daughter was running around, putting herself in danger behind her back. Rumiko shook her head.

"Okay, I think I understand," Rumiko said. She sounded tired. "Alice, we need to talk after this. Same goes with you, Ruki."

Alice nodded. Sensing what was coming next was going to be private, the foreigner excused herself and left, her drab dress flouncing after her. Ruki glanced back at the kitchen: Renamon stood by the door watching the two of them, Ruki's grandmother shambling about in the back and preparing more coffee. Rumiko cleared her throat. "Ruki, let's go to my room. I want to talk with you again after school," Rumiko said, standing up.

"School?"

Rumiko shot her a look. "You're still going to school. We'll write up a note saying we had an emergency."

"But that's lying – " Ruki cut herself off, realizing how silly she sounded as her mom led her down the narrow halls to her room.

"Everyone lies, Ruki," Rumiko said tartly. "You have to be mature enough to know when _not_ to lie."

Ruki didn't know what to say to that. She couldn't even remember the last time she even talked this long with her mom – she was always running out for modeling and dating. Ruki had been off doing her own thing too: between the card games, Renamon and battling, and later this whole new thing with Takato disappearing, she hadn't been home much herself.

Rumiko's room was one of the smaller ones in the house. Ruki vaguely remembered her switching rooms after her dad left, something about it being too big for one person. Still, she was surprised to see the room was fairly neat, not struggling to emerge under a heap of laundry. Rumiko gestured at the bed – yet another piece of Western furniture, something picked up from a tour out of the country - and indicated that Ruki should sit on the corner of the mattress.

Rumiko turned to face her daughter. "I don't like that you lied about something this serious. I know you didn't exactly lie to my face, but still, you should have told us earlier."

"I did it for – " Ruki started. Her mother cut her off.

"For what? Because you thought we wouldn't understand?"

Ruki flared. "I did it so you guys wouldn't get worried! It wasn't your business!"

Rumiko's voice took on a strange tone Ruki never heard before. "What happens in this house is my business. What happens to _this_ family is my business."

"I didn't think you'd listen," Ruki said, but it was a weak argument.

Rumiko stared down at her daughter. "Maybe you should have tried coming to _me_ for once. Just because I pose for the camera for a living doesn't mean I'm incapable of intelligent thought. If I knew about Renamon about…about whatever's going on here now, maybe I could've helped. I could've moved us out of Tokyo by now if only I knew."

"I can't leave," Ruki latched onto that idea and clung onto it, just as she found her fingers were kneading the thick down inside the bed's comforter. She forced herself to stop. "We're the only ones who even have a chance against all this."

"And you expect Mom and me to leave without you?"

Ruki didn't say anything as her mom sighed.

In the dim light from the lamp, Rumiko reached up to rub at her eye with her fingers – Ruki realized she was starting to cry in helpless frustration. The Tamer looked away quickly. This wasn't like the big dramatic tears she'd seen her mother display in the past. These were far more real, far more heartfelt. The fact these were quiet and nearly invisible was far more moving than anything else. Her mother's tears began to jar Ruki more than anything she faced so far. Wild Digimon screaming for her blood she could take; at least she knew how to handle _those_.

"We'll need to figure out what to do now," Rumiko said, doing her best to hide the quaver in her voice. "I'll talk with Renamon. I need to tell my agent I'm going to be taking my vacation starting tomorrow, and I'll call the Matsudas and Lees, see if we can arrange something together about all of this. Tomorrow's going to be your last day of school. After tomorrow, I don't want you going anymore, you hear me?"

Ruki nodded, subdued. That had been the end of any discussion. After that, Rumiko drove Alice and her to school. The ride there was silent, Rumiko constantly looking in the rear-view mirror at the two girls sitting in the back of the car. She dropped them off without any word after scribbling a letter to give to the teacher. The teacher had barely looked at the note.

Which brought Ruki back to the present.

" - I want you all to pick a poem," the teacher at the chalkboard was saying. "I'll be giving you certain poets. Read the poem and write a few short paragraphs on what it means to you, what it might mean for someone else. It's due tomorrow."

Ruki glanced around the room. Her class was suffering the same problems Jenrya's school was. The number of empty seats and shrinking attendance increased daily. So did the nervous looks the teachers threw each other. Rumors had begun to fly between the students about all of this. But no one could explain it. Ruki's gaze turned toward the front. Sitting a few desks ahead of the Tamer, Alice was writing something; unlike the rest of the students, she appeared utterly focused. She didn't look up at the teacher passed her aisle and set down a paper in front of her. Ruki picked up her own poem and scanned it automatically before stopping after she realized something.

_ Why am I even bothering?_ Ruki wasn't even coming back tomorrow.

The rest of the class went almost like any other day. It was hard to believe it was any different then it had been a few months ago. It was around lunch that Alice got up and talked to the teacher; the woman leaned down as Alice whispered something into her ear, her pale lips moving noiselessly. Whatever it was, she seemed to have permission. Alice turned and gathered up her small book-bag and went down the aisles toward the door. Ruki leaned over her desk, hissing.

"Where're you going?"

"I need to look into something," Alice whispered back. "I'll be back in an hour."

Ruki frowned. "But –"

"It won't take that long."

"What if you don't come back before school is over?"

"I'll meet you at the park you told me about. I'll be right back."

With that, Alice passed her and left, the door sliding closed. The lunch period passed. Next came their gym period.

Ruki changed into her gym clothing in the locker room, pulling on the black shorts and shirt after stuffing the rest of her clothing in the locker. Gym had been one of her favorite classes; not because she couldn't do the school-work, but because it gave her a chance to stretch her legs, do something…well, _active_. The Tamer pulled on her tennis shoes and trotted out into the school yard.

It occurred to her this might be the last time she was going to see this place in a while.

Nostalgia started to rise up, but Ruki crushed it down. It was just a school. So what if she spent several years here? It was only a hunk of concrete and steel. Stupid to get worked up over something like that.

Ruki did her warm-ups with the rest of the class. Stretched her calves, did her sit-ups and jumping jacks in the back like everyone else. Like the school, she probably wouldn't be seeing the other kids again. That was a little more depressing. Once they got out of this whole mess, she'd probably see everyone again.

"Okay, everyone's all stretched and ready?" The gym teacher, Mrs. Leiko, asked.

Everyone nodded. Off in the back, Ruki stood with her hands on her hips, tapping the dirt with the toe of her tennis shoe. Mrs. Leiko pulled her aviator sunglasses off from their perch on her head and put them on. She pointed to her right.

"See those hurdles?" she asked. Everyone nodded. "Well, we're not doing those today. Ground's still too wet to be jumping around in your gym clothes."

A few students in the group made disappointed groans. Others shrugged.

"We'll be working on endurance, so here's the deal: a little long-distance never hurt anyone," the gym teacher turned and pointed to her right, where the lot went around the side of the campus. "Go around the main building to the pool. Once there, I want you guys to circle the pool and then go back on course until you come back over here. We'll do three miles.""

Didn't sound that hard. Ruki looked up at the sky becoming overcast again after a full day of sunshine. Still the same bluish tint. If she looked closely, she could actually see the ripples through the aura's surface. _It's already over Shinjuku_, Ruki thought. What was going to happen when it reached its limit? _Maybe we could try to launch an assault on Zudomon_. It was a crazy idea. Zudomon was an Ultimate. He could easily blow them off the map at the strength they were at now. Didn't mean she couldn't daydream about it.

"Let's go!" Mrs. Leiko shouted encouragingly at the class assembled and started off.

A few of girls tried sprinting despite her warnings this wasn't a race and pulled ahead. Ruki went at her own pace, her bare legs pounding against the ground. Running like this always seemed to take her mind off things – she could focus more on her breathing, her leg muscles and her pacing instead of thinking about all her problems.

The first couple of laps were uneventful. By the sixth lap, Ruki was starting to have fun.

In fact, she didn't notice the strange fog rolling in until her eyes started burning for no reason.

Ruki looked up, feeling involuntary tears at the edge of her vision. Thick white mist was swirling near the pool. She couldn't even see the other kids and she slowed to a walk, her heart still pounding in her chest. Slowly she focused on the fog, falling out of her running rhythm until she came walking to a stop. Was this what she thought it was?

A chorus of screams ahead of her answered that question.

A digital field!

The shadows of girls ahead of her turned and ran past her, scattering like deer. There was a deafening roar. An explosion. More students fled shrieking. Ruki stood her ground. Another howling roar shook the foundations of the school through the spreading digital field's fog.

A Digimon. Ruki could hardly believe it. A Digimon bio-emerging at her school in plain view!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo peered through the bars of the gated walls surrounding Ruki's private school - it was bigger and a lot nicer looking than their campus. He let loose a whistle.

"Pretty nice set-up," he said. He glanced at Jenrya, sitting on the ground to wait. "How long do we have to wait?"

"Maybe an hour?"

Ryo threw another glance toward the school. Off to the side, almost out of view, he could see a group of at least two dozen girls in gym clothing doing a few stretches in orderly lines while a teacher supervised. "Looks like they've got gym right now."

"Is Ruki out there?" Jenrya asked.

"If she is, I can't see her from here," Ryo paused. "They started doing laps – wait. Yeah, I see her."

Ryo sat down next to Jenrya, who looked like he wasn't in any mood to talk. The other boy looked like he was ready to doze off, his head bowed. Terriermon and Ryo remained awake, keeping quiet s they waited.

Ryo stared up at the sky without really seeing it as Terriermon found a collection of gravel and began tossing them in boredom across the street as he tried to skip them. A few danced across the street in little hops. The others bounced clumsily and hit trash cans across the street. Ryo's hand had begun aching again. He focused keeping it perfectly still, wondering if he should try to get some sleep too and follow Jenrya's example.

Thud. Thud. Terriermon's aim improved.

Seconds stretched into minutes. Half an hour passed.

Ryo rubbed at his head, blinking. He didn't know was bugging him. At first he dismissed it; he knew he was paranoid and sometimes even _he_ had to admit sometimes he could jump at false shadows every now and then. But when his head suddenly started throbbing, he realized it wasn't just paranoia. Whatever it was, it bugged Terriermon too. He stopped tossing gravel and stood up to waddle over to the front entrance's gate. The Rookie's eyes narrowed as he peered through the bars at the school.

Ryo stood up to join him.

"You feel that too?" Ryo winced. It felt like there was some a weird, increasing pressure between his ears, as if he was coming down from the mountains.

"Sure do."

"Is that what I think it is?"

Terriermon nodded. "Yep – "

The pressure increased further and further. Were his ears going to start popping? With a sudden explosion in the distance, the pressure in his head vanished as a thick cloud of white mist erupted from behind the private school's main building in a mushroom cloud. The cloud spurted straight up, sending out plumes that sank back to the ground. Instantly recognizing what happened, Terriermon pounced on Jenrya. The Tamer grunted under the weight and bolted awake.

"Jenrya! Wake up! We've got a problem!" Terriermon squeaked. "A digital field!"

"What?" Jenrya gasped.

Ryo reached down and picked the other Tamer up and onto his feet as Terriermon ran in circles about their ankles, his long ears flopping behind him. Turning, Ryo tried the gates with his good hand – aside from a rattle of metal, they didn't budge. A frown. They were locked. _Of course they're locked_, he thought sarcastically. _Why leave it open so weirdos can walk right in? _Not like _that_ would stop the Digimon tabout to bio-emerge. Locked of not, they'd have to get inside. Jenrya apparently had the same idea after sizing up the situation. He picked up Terriermon.

"Do me a favor and make sure Ruki's alright, okay?"

Terriermon nodded. "I'm on it!"

Jenrya gave his partner a toss upward. The Rookie took to the air easily, his ears spreading as if they were wings. Terriermon disappeared over the gate and was gone, diving into the spreading thick mist rolling around the sides of the school. Jenrya watched Terriermon fade quickly from view. _Hope he's going to be okay_, Jenrya sighed. He reached into his backpack and found his D-Arc. Attaching it to his belt, shoving his cards in his pockets and placing his green-tinted sunglasses on his nose, he turned to Ryo.

"One of us has to climb over and unlock the gate."

Ryo shook his head. "I can't do it. I'm heavier than you. I'll give you a boost."

"What about your hand?"

"Don't worry about it," Ryo said, touching the bandages on his mangled fingers. "I can't climb with it anyway."

It was easier to support Jenrya's smaller weight for a few seconds, Ryo explained, than have to support his own heavier weight for a longer amount of time. But either way, it couldn't be avoided that he'd have to use his bad hand. So long as they got the gate open, it shouldn't matter.

Jenrya's voice was still doubtful. "…Okay, I guess I'll do it."

Ryo knelt next to the gate and locked his fingers together so his hands could provide a foothold for the smaller boy. It took a few seconds since he had to have help positioning his stiff fingers together with his unwounded hand, biting back the pain. Jenrya lifted his left foot and placed it on the Ryo's hands – he winced at the pained sound Ryo made - and grabbed the bars. Grunting, Ryo heaved upward with his interlocked hands, arms straining to propel the Tamer up. A loud gasp of thick pain from Ryo.

Jenrya shot up a few feet with the boost and scrabbled frantically to grab the bars. He managed to get good enough leverage that he slid over the gate and landed heavily on the other side. Staggered a little, righted himself. Standing on his tip-toes, Jenrya reached up and undid the lock.

The gate swung open.

Ryo joined him. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his face from the pain and he looked like he was about to get nauseous, but he insisted he was good to go. Already the digital field's fog had spread to the entrance of the school. The mist closed in as the two boys ran toward the field.

Something toward the back howled. Human screams. Vague shapes in the fog that had to be people scattering. A few girls ran past them without sparing the two boys a glance.

Jenrya raced toward the back of the school. One of the shapes wasn't running up toward them up ahead: she was running in the opposite direction, taking long strides that looked anything but scared. He slowed, called her name as he realized who it was. Although she wore the same gray shirt tucked in and the black gym shorts as the others, the girl sported familiar auburn hair pulled up into a pony-tail. Ruki turned at the sounds of their approach and slowed to let them catch up. She already had her own tinted glasses, eyes flicking toward Ryo and Jenrya.

"Terriermon went up ahead!" Ruki called back.

"Did you see what bio-emerged?" Jenrya asked.

"Didn't get a chance," Ruki answered curtly. "I had to run back to the locker and get my stuff for this before I went back into the field."

Ryo looked around. "What about Renamon? Where's Alice?"

"Renamon's on her way right now. And I told you Alice vanished somewhere on some random errand during our lunch period."

Ryo muttered something under his breath but had no choice except roll with it. The three ran through the fog, following the sounds of scuffling and thudding. As they neared the school's pool, there was a loud explosion, a cry of "_Bunny Twister_!" and a splash of water. Jenrya heaved the fenced gate of the pool open and ran toward the battle, Ryo and Ruki right behind him. Terriermon had just engaged the enemy Digimon, flashes of green energy becoming clear as they closed in.

Jenrya's D-Arc identified the other Digimon as "Garurumon", the holo doing his sheer speed no justice. The Champion moved way faster than could've believed possible for his size. The height from his shoulder blades to the ground towered over even Ryo, the tallest in their entire group. Gray fur lined with blue stripes stood up in thick tufts around Garurumon's head and back. Twin tails snaked behind the wolf-Digimon as he lunged forward at Terriermon, who was using every trick in the book to dodge. Strong purple claws punctured the pool's deck as Garurumon went after his enemy with barking snarls, tongue lolling between his fangs.

Jenrya slashed his card as Terriermon bounced over Garurumon's head.

"_Digi-Modify_! Digivolution, _activate_!"

Terriermon vanished in the burst of light as he digivolved. His small shape peeled away into streamers of curling data. Garurumon wheeled around, growling as the light flashed and Gargomon replaced the Rookie. The gun-bunny fired at the other Champion as he landed, the barrels of his weapons whirling rapidly and laying down surpressing fire. The Wolf snarled under the cracks of the rounds exploding around him.

"You waste your time!" Garurumon sneered as he lunged through the flak-clouds and ash. His burnt amber eyes flicked toward the kids standing across the pool. He bared his fangs. "We don't have to be enemies, Gargomon!"

"Then how come you're attacking the kids?" Gargomon demanded.

"If I don't, who will?!"

Garurumon sprang forward, jaws snapping. Gargomon hastily brought up one of his gun-arms in a block. With a jarring screech of teeth meeting metal, Garurumon worried the arm viciously like a dog. Fangs scrapped across the barrel. "Come to your senses and free yourself from these vermin!" he growled around Gargomon's arm. "They'll only drag you down!"

The two opponents disengaged after a second and leapt backward. Garurumon landed and skidded on all fours, claws splayed, hackles rising. Gargomon assumed a defensive stance in front of Jenrya, Ruki and Ryo. Garurumon regarded his enemy with a look bordering on pity.

"I'll give you another chance," his eyes narrowed. He spoke earnestly, "Leave these humans to me. I've _seen_ the spells they cast over our kind. It's not too late to be freed from their influence! Leave them to me and I can correct this wrong you've committed."

"And what wrong would that be?"

Garurumon whipped about at this unexpected voice, searching for the source. Gargomon glanced over toward the newcomer emerging within their very midst: Renamon's sleek form swirled into view next to Gargomon, the fog distorting with her appearance, her arms folded across her chest as she perched on a fence pole. Renamon stared down her snout at the gray Wolf, disdain on her face as she lifted her chin. Her eyes fixed on Garurumon.

"Who are you to tell us how things are better off?" Renamon asked. "You're little more than a wild beast."

Garurumon flexed his claws, muscles bunching in preparation. "Wild beast? Ha!" Garurumon laughed. "I understand: you've been blinded by your reliance on your human masters. They _use_ you, whisper sweet nothings that are little more than honeyed venom, poison you until you are incapable of any thoughts of your own. Until you can't think of anything but _them_!"

Renamon unfolded her arms. They hung at her side as she took a graceful step down from the pole to balance with ease on the fence. It bowed a little under her weight. Despite her deceptively relaxed poise, she was ready to spring into action. She sniffed at Garurumon's words as if they were something a child who didn't know any better would say.

"We'll see about that," Renamon glanced at Ruki, then back at Garurumon. "But you were right – we don't have to fight."

Garurumon tilted his head back and laughed again. "Oh, but we _do_, my dear, now that I've seen how you slave under her. Violence will have to solve what discussion won't. As long you desire to play pacifist and protect humans, we must fight if I can't convince you to better your ways through words."

"I? A pacifist? Doubtful," Renamon's mouth turned up at the corners in a humorless half-smile. "You give me entirely too much credit."

Gargomon leveled his guns. "Enough talking. I'm sick of his stupid preaching!"

Garurumon smirked, baring his row of knife-like fangs in a grin. "So you'll be foolish like I once was. I pity you all. You won't get a second chance like I did. But perhaps once your data is free after your deletion and eventually reborn, you'll understand what it means. You'll see how things really are. Perhaps then we will understand each other," his chest puffed out as he took a deep breath. Blue bolts of energy crackled around his snout. "_Howling Blaster!_"

Ruki and Jenrya dived into the battle as their Digimon did the same. Jenrya had to admit he was shaken by what Garurumon said. Maybe a small part of him wondered if it was true. Gargomon didn't seem to think so. The Tamer hadn't ever seen his normally happy-go-lucky partner that bothered by anything someone said: Now Gargomon was about to leap into the fight without waiting for any help from his Tamer. Jenrya hurriedly selected a card as Ruki slashed hers.

"_Digi-Modify_! Battle Tomahawk, _activate_!"

Renamon leapt straight up as Garurumon's Howling Blaster tore through the fence. Her outstretched arms glowed as two battle axes suddenly materialized in each paw. Her claws closed around them as she landed on another one of the fence poles. The section of fence where Garurumon hit it melted into a sinking mass of metal that had become, strangely, frosted with ice. Renamon ran lightly along the fence where she landed. Her arm snapped forward and sent one of the Battle Tomahawks hurtling toward the large gray Wolf.

It plunged into his shoulder, sinking several inches into his fur with a metallic clang. Garurumon let out a pained howl. But he only whipped his snout around and closed his jaws around the axe's handle protruding from his flesh. He plucked it out and, with a shake of his snout, tossed the blade into the waters of the pool. The weapon sank quickly to the bottom.

Garurumon bounded after Renamon as a trail of gunfire from Gargomon spurted after his hind legs. His wound seemed to do little to slow him as he kept up with his enemy on the fence.

Jenrya selected his card, "_Digi-Modify_! Power Charger, _activate_!"

Gargomon shouted a thanks over his shoulder as one of his guns began to morph into a different weapon, glowing. Metal plates lifted up and shifted around until he bore an angular cannon on his left arm with cables running along its length. He continued to fire rounds with his regular arm as the other began to charge, humming in an increasing crescendo. Meanwhile, Ruki was selecting another card as Renamon leaped off the fence and drove her last Battle Tomahawk into Garurumon's back.

Garurumon shook her off with an infuriated curse, sending her back-peddling a few paces.

Ryo watched the battle. Something about it felt wrong, like if he focused on it too much, his head started throbbing. Something out of place. Ryo glanced at the others. Jenrya was busy with the battle. Same with Ruki. Gargomon had fired off a charged blast from his new cannon-arm, discharging a boom that roared like a thunderclap. Garurumon easily evaded the shot and was now driving Renamon back toward the gun-bunny Digimon. A large hole had been blown into the deck next to the pool, rapidly filling with chlorinated water. _Something's wrong with this picture_, Ryo frowned. He found his eyes returning back to Garurumon more and more.

It wasn't the fight itself.

It was Garurumon. Something about him seemed hauntingly familiar.

But that didn't make any sense. Ryo remembered all his time in the Digital World more than we wanted to; he _knew_ he hadn't ever encountered Garurumon back then. Or ever. But the more he stared, the more his head began to ache and his stomach began to toss and turn in unrest. Garurumon hadn't ever acted like this…

_ "I'm sorry about all of this," Garurumon apologized after his partner did the same. He bowed his wolfish head, "But we had to trick you. It was necessary."_

_ A boy, his face shadowed by the overbearing sun behind him, approached Ryo. The sunlight glinted off his goggles for a second as he explained why they_ tricked him_. His words didn't seem to make sense to Ryo. The words were there, but they didn't seem to make sense. It was gibberish to Ryo's ears. The boy with the goggles went on like that for awhile until he noticed something was wrong. He stopped and exchanged troubled looks with Garurumon's partner, who was standing out in plain sight unlike the other boy. _

_ Ryo couldn't remember the other boy's face at all. There was a blank spot where his head should be. _

_ "...he's not talking._ _This's bad…"_

_ "Ryo? What's wrong?"_

_Wrong. Even that memory felt wrong, another niggling voice said. He knew/didn't know Garurumon at the same time. It was because the intel was bad...  
_

Intel? What intel? Ryo looked up sharply. He half-expected to see Garurumon sitting on his haunches before him, looking apologetic, those big amber eyes avoiding his own in a mixture of respect and guilty apprehension at what Ryo would say.

Now Garurumon was busy fighting Renamon and Gargomon, pouncing in the air and sending a shafting ray of his Howling Blaster arcing across the pool after Renamon. She leaped over the expanse of water. The pool steamed and then cracked as a swath of ice crackled after the trail of the blue energy beam.

_What was that?_ Ryo wondered. His black eyes slid over the battlefield._ Keep it together!_ It was harder than it looked to to convince himself that the only boys here were Jenrya and him. That he wouldn't suddenly see a boy with a shadowed face and goggles, or Garurumon's headless partner.

It was then he noticed they were being watched.

Ryo froze as he met the watcher's icy blue ones. A young boy with plastic-rimmed yellow goggles sat on telephone pool standing tall outside the outer wall beyond the pool, legs crossed, his chin resting in his hand, lips twisted up in a little amused smile that somehow looked mean. He made a mocking little wave to Ryo as he watched Gargomon empty clips at Garurumon.

Jenrya jumped at Ryo's unexpected touch on his shoulder. The other boy simply pointed. Jenrya followed his gesture.

"It's him!" Jenrya gasped. "Ruki, it's the fake Takato again!"

"Digi Mod –" Ruki cut herself off, the card she selected half in her D-Arc. "_Where_?!" Jenrya pointed and she looked ready to reach out and try to charge the boy sitting out of their reach.

The battle itself wasn't going well. Despite the fact Renamon and Gargomon were teamed up against Garurumon, they didn't seem to any closer to dropkicking him to the next timezone. For a while it seemed to be an even match, but that changed. Garurumon was simply too fast. Whatever blows he took from their joint attacks, he shook them off and went after both of them with a single-minded zeal bordering on scary. It didn't seem to bother him how many cards the humans used on him. He'd long since stopped bothering to talk the other Digimon down, howling his fury as he drove them back toward their Tamers. His eyes flashed with hope that he could take them all down in one strike.

But he didn't get his chance.

"_Schwarz Strahl_!"

Without warning, delicate beams of energy lanced out from the left, behind Garurumon. It cut a hissing path through the destroyed pool deck. Water shot up in a spray of liquid through the thin holes left by the Schwarz Strahl and rained down on the Wolf. Garurumon lunged to the side as one of the beams shaved by.

"Alice!" Ruki stopped short.

Alice sat on her partner's back, holding onto the spikes of his collar with her nearly bloodless hands. She nodded at Ruki's call. Dobermon's snout quivered with a growl that ran along his frame as he stared at the Digimon facing off with Gargomon and Renamon.

Garurumon was now out-numbered. The Wolf could take two, but three was pushing it. Especially when two of them were already Champions like himself. It frustrated him to see these slaves making the terrible mistake same. All of them were! But he couldn't teach them any better at this rate; he wasn't stupid. Snarling angrily, Garurumon glowered at the group assembled. A shame, really. He could have helped them so much, but they were like addicts, defending the very filth poisoning them.

Truly creatures to be pitied.

Garurumon made a sudden move: he darted to his left and jumped over the fence with a single, powerful spring of his hind legs, and then over the outer wall. Renamon and Dobermon went to pursue him, but he was already long gone. Jenrya lowered his D-Arc. Off in the distance, the fake Takato eyed the group for another second longer and then hoped off from his viewpoint, vanishing after Garurumon.

The battle was over.

Jenrya let out a sigh of relief, surveying the damage. The pool was frozen at one end, its deck torn to shreds between Renamon's Diamond Storm, Gargomon's cannon barrage, Dobermon's Schwarz Strahl and Garurumon's Howling Blaster. Water bubbled and frothed from the maze of holes in the deck as the digital field's fog faded away. There was hardly anything left of the original pool. Jenrya welcomed Gargomon as he came trotting back.

"He got to you, didn't he?" Jenrya asked.

Gargomon scrunched up his nose. "He was only bashing you and calling you names," the gun-bunny said roughly. He offered a little grin as an afterthought, "Only _I_ get to bash you!"

"We should get out of here," Ruki removed her purple-tinted shades and grimaced, "They probably called the cops or something by now. Besides, I'm freezing. I'm not running around in my gym clothes all day."

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Ryo listened without really paying attention as they agreed to head back to the park. Jenrya still wanted to go to Odaiba, but Ruki wanted to change plans and pursue Garurumon and the fake Takato. Things were different now, Ruki said. They're already gone, Jenrya replied back. Besides, it could just be bait. Why waste time chasing those two if they could be focusing on the bigger picture? The two Tamers nearly got into a fight right there and then until Alice intervened, saying calmly it would be better to come to a compromise once they reached the park. The planned meeting hadn't changed despite the battle with the Wolf. Instead of wasting time fighting, they should be working together.

_What was that back there?_ That weird memory blip, whatever he wanted to call it, kept bugging him.

Ryo was quiet during all of this, his tanned face thoughtful. _I'm just imagining things_, Ryo decided. _Last thing I want to do is run my mouth about it to the others_. Ryo decided he wouldn't mention his hallucination to Jenrya or the others. No sense making them think he was crazy…well, more crazy than he already was. You had to be a little crazy to run around after monsters that could sneeze fire, he thought dryly.

Ryo didn't notice the strange looks Alice gave him.

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It was times like these Jenrya wished Ruki didn't have such a stubborn streak. She wasn't making any of this easier.

They made it to the park after making sure no one was hurt from Garurumon's attack. Only one of the girls from Ruki's class had suffered an injury, a sprain from when she twisted her ankle running. After that, they left for the meeting grounds: Guilmon's old hiding spot. Once everyone arranged themselves – Ryo leaning against the wall near the entrance, hands in his pockets, Ruki sitting on the largest chunk of rubble in the back with Renamon standing behind her, Alice and Dobermon near the entrance closest to Ryo and Jenrya with Terriermon sitting on his shoulder – they tried to decide how to approach this new problem. Ruki couldn't be budged.

"I'm going after those two."

Jenrya tried to reason with her. "Ruki, they're not the main problem."

"You even agreed with me that the fake Takato could lead us to the real one," Ruki returned bluntly. "This's part of the main problem. All of it is!"

Renamon nodded in agreement with her partner. "Ruki's right. We can't ignore one for the other since it appears that all of this is linked up somehow. We do need to split our efforts so we can try to recover Takato."

Jenrya fell silent. The thing was she had a point there too. It was hard butting heads with someone when you agreed.

Surprisingly, it was Ryo who suggested the compromise. "It's not like we can't split up. You guys even agreed we couldn't travel as a group anyway," he said. "Why don't you two go after Garurumon and that fake Takato? I could go to Odaiba and check it out."

Jenrya thought about this. "That could work."

"Besides, I might recognize whatever it is. If a Digimon is making it, I might've seen it in the Digital World," Ryo said. He didn't notice Alice's eyes narrowing at his words. He continued, "Anyway, there's no point in me coming to look for that fake Takato; I'd just get in the way. It's a waste of time trying to protect me from eating it if you guys are having a hard enough times defending yourselves."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence," Ruki snorted.

"My pleasure," Ryo replied with the same dryness.

"So it'll be me, Ruki, Terriermon and Renamon. That leaves Alice, Dobermon and you," Jenrya mused. He glanced at Alice – the foreigner hadn't said much since she got back. "Is that okay with you?"

Alice nodded slowly. "It's fine," she shot a look at Ryo. His expression was resigned. "I'm ready to leave whenever you all are."

That settled things. Jenrya made sure the Digimon were fit and ready; Terriermon scarfed down the lunch Jenrya hadn't eaten, hungry from the battle with Garurumon.

Jenrya glanced at his watch. "It's going to take a while for you guys to reach Odaiba before it gets dark, so you might want to leave pretty soon."

"Dobermon went to wait outside," Alice turned to go. She nodded to the others. "We'll see you later."

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Alice wandered outside as Ryo prepared to leave himself. Now that he knew he was going to be stuck with the strange girl, he found himself almost dreading it. What was he even afraid of anyway? She was weird, but that was all. End of story. "Don't have too much fun without me," he gave a mock wave over his shoulder as he left Guilmon's former den. "Catch you when we get back."

"Be careful," Jenrya said after him.

Ryo walked outside and nearly started in surprise: Alice hadn't gone to the bottom of the winding concrete stairs to be with Dobermon, as he assumed. Instead, she was waited for him right outside the little hut, standing to the side so he didn't see her at first. Feeling stupid that he was jumping at shadows he could actually see, Ryo continued past Alice. She followed him like a living ghost, her shoes making hardly a sound on the steps. Every time he got near her, he felt like he had to be on his guard or something. Stuff like her running off, only to come charging in at the last second bugged him.

_ If she tried to pull that kind of stunt in the Digital World, she would've never made it_, Ryo thought irritably. The rules in the Digital World were different. You couldn't abandon your allies like that and expect them to greet you with open arms just because you swooped in not once – but twice – and played like you were some kind of hero. Not if you wanted to survive. You either stuck with your allies or you didn't. There wasn't any kind of in-between. You either were with your allies or you were on your own. Ryo had found that out the hard way.

They made it a quarter of the way down before there was a sound behind them from the top of the hill. Ryo turned, Alice doing the same a few steps behind him. The flash Renamon's digivolution faded. Kyuubimon squeezed through the entrance to Guilmon's hide-away, her passengers ducking. The sleek Champion bounded into the bushes vanished out of sight.

The air was crackling with electricity as they walked and the air heavy with an oppressive wet warmth indicated they had another storm coming. The sunshine had been too good to last for more than a couple of days. A hot, musky breeze gusted around them as the two went down the steps toward the main path. Ryo was well aware of Alice behind him despite her silence. Alice had been staring at him more and more ever since they'd first met, he was sure of it. _Maybe I'm imagining it. I mean, I did start hallucinating or something during the Garurumon battle._ Whatever the reason, he was getting fed up.

They had just reached the bottom of the steps when Alice stopped.

"We need to talk."

Ryo turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. "Can't it wait until we're at Odaiba?"

"No," Alice said. "It can't wait."

_ Here we go. Great. _Ryo was tempted to turn and keep walking to Dobermon. The Digimon was only a few yards away at bottom, a few more steps down, watching the two of them. They didn't have time for this. He needed to see whatever was happening in Odaiba and do his part here before his luck ran out. Somehow he doubted Dobermon was side with him. It was usually like that: Tamer first, everyone else after. Wondering if he'd regret volunteering, he decided to get this over with.

"What's the problem?" Ryo scowled.

The breeze continued to grow stronger. It whipped Alice's blond pig-tails in her face. That didn't seem to bother her as she took a step closer to him. Her expression was troubled, blue eyes wide:

"It's you."

Ryo was startled. "_Me_?"

"…Who are you?" Alice asked quietly.

Ryo stared at her. "What're you talking about? I introduced myself the other day."

"I'm well aware of that," Alice said. She continued to meet his gaze. "But I don't think you're Ryo Akiyama. You should have remembered me."

**To be continued**  
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	22. Shake Down

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Holy moly. Longest chapter I've written so far. Very full of stuff.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Shake Down)

"I'm well aware of that," Alice said. She continued to meet his gaze. "But I don't think you're Ryo Akiyama. You should have remembered me."

Ryo had no idea what to say. It took a couple of long seconds for what she said to even begin to sink in, let alone actually _register_. And when it did, he wasn't sure if he should start laughing or not. It was stupid! What was she _talking_ about? He'd never met her before. A girl like this he would've totally remembered running into. Charming girl like that, you think she'd be really hard to miss.

"The Ryo I knew didn't have brown eyes; he had blue. He didn't have this or these," Alice pointed at her right cheek and left ear, miming the faint scar and the trio of small steel studded earrings Ryo wore as remnants from his time in the Digital World. "He also should have recognized me, if not any mention of my grandfather."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ryo repeated hotly.

"Exactly. I want to know who you are."

"I already told you!" Ryo exclaimed.

"That doesn't change anything. What you told me was false."

"I'm _not_ lying!"

His outburst went unnoticed. Alice took another step closer until she was practically invading his personal space, her cold eyes running up and down Ryo's body as if she was performing a medical examination. Ryo glared uneasily at her probing.

"You're look close enough. I'll give you that. Except for what I pointed out, you look pretty much exactly how I remember you," Alice said at length. "I wanted to observe you more before I started saying anything, especially in front of Ruki Makino and Jenrya Lee."

Ryo felt like the world was spinning in dizzying circles around him. This was downright surreal.

"I want to know how you got here."

Ryo could only stare. "What?"

"And I want to know what you're doing here in his place."

Ryo was sure he was going to start gaping like an idiot at Alice all over again. What kind of questions were these? All this talk of some "real" Ryo was went way over his head. Last time he checked, he hadn't stashed a twin anywhere. She was talking to him like he was some kind of spy. How could he prove he was, y'know, _him_? Where was Alice even coming up with this stuff?

Wait a minute. _Why should I feel forced to prove who I am?_

_I _know_ I'm me. _

"If this's a joke, I'm not laughing," Ryo said coldly.

"I don't joke."

Ryo didn't answer. It was like he was arguing in circles and he could feel his hands curling into frustrated fists. None of this was making any more sense then the dreams he couldn't recall. There was only Alice and the hushed whispering of the breeze through the brush surrounding the stairs. A few leaves fluttered past them. There was the wet scent of coming rain.

"Well?" Alice asked.  
_  
__I don't have to put up with this_. Ryo rolled his eyes – she was crazier than he was! - and started to brush past her, but her hand shot out and grabbed him by the upper arm. She was a lot stronger than she looked, her fingers closed together with an iron grip he couldn't seem to pull free from. Ryo glared at her.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I wish I did," Ryo gritted through his teeth. "What do you want, a blood test? You want to whip one out, then knock yourself out. Whatever floats your boat. But right now we're wasting time."

Alice's grip tightened. "A few minutes won't make a difference. I don't know who you are, or how you got here. But you're _not_ going to jeopardize the others while I'm here."

"Why would I do that?"

For the first time since they met, emotion flickered across Alice's face. It colored with pure anger as her doll-like face broke into a deadly expression. Her fingers were icy against Ryo's arm even through his turtleneck's sleeve. When she spoke, her words were clipped. "Because I think you're just some little replacement," she hissed into his ear. "You think I wouldn't begin to suspect? That I wouldn't notice something was wrong?"

Ryo tried to pull away again, but Alice still held onto his arm with that same cold grip.

"I don't know how they did it. I don't care how. The real Ryo _died_," Alice said. "My grandfather and I have proof of his death."

"And what proof is that?"

Alice met his eyes. Her anger had hurt, too, as if seeing his face was like pouring hot oil into some old, festering wound. She stared at him for a second, wondering if she should fill him in. If it was a waste of time explaining anything to _him_ of all people. She then sighed and drew back, her arm drooping, her hand still on Ryo. She suddenly seemed older than she really was from the way her shoulders fell.

"You – the real Ryo," Alice corrected herself, "went to the Digital World two years ago. Ryo wasn't supposed to go that early, my grandfather wanted him to wait. He went anyway. My grandfather was so angry about that, saying it was too dangerous for children to be going again. I was the one to act as the middleman between Ryo and my grandfather. That wasn't so bad. It meant I got to talk to Ryo every day since he always had something to report back to us about the nature of things in the Digital World."

Ryo said nothing. Alice continued, her voice flat now.

"Things seemed fine at first. Ryo said he and his partner were traveling into the Mid-West, since that was where the majority of the worst rumors originated. His reports began to grow less frequent. He said in one of them the city they headed to was where Digimon calling themselves the 'Council' met. He didn't know what it was about and said that he'd be careful and keep out of the way," Alice said. "That was the beginning of last year. We didn't hear from either him or his partner for several months."

Alice looked down at the ground. "When we did, things were bad. They were retreating north into hiding. Some loyalists to this Council noticed them snooping about and reported them. They were chased out. Ryo pretended he wasn't worried. He said the Digimon following them were farther behind than they really were. He said they could find hiding in a neutral village in the mountains. Said he didn't mind going sight-seeing up there," she hesitated. Her fingers around Ryo's arm tightened painfully as she looked up and met his eyes, "We didn't hear from Ryo again."

Ryo was tempted to dismiss this all of this. Getting to the Digital World hadn't been planned at all; he'd never even heard of Alice or Rob McCoy until now. Alice, though…she spoke with such utter conviction in that dead voice of hers that Ryo knew she believed everything she said.

"I don't see how that's proof I died."

Alice glowered at him. "I never said _you_ did. You're not Ryo."

Not _this_ again. Ryo bit down a sarcastic retort, trying a different reproach, "How's that solid proof? So you didn't hear from the other Ryo again."

"We heard from his partner after Ryo's last contact with my grandfather and I," Alice answered tersely. "He said they'd been outnumbered and he hadn't been able to do anything. They walked into an unexpected attack and there were too many, too powerful. Ryo wasn't moving anymore. He kept saying Ryo wasn't waking up like he was supposed to. That he wasn't responding, there was a little blood, but nothing changed even after he bandaged the wounds. After that last message, we didn't hear from Ryo's partner either."

Alice released Ryo suddenly. The blond girl made an unconscious motion to rub her hand on her dress.

"Ryo _died_ out there. His partner probably deleted himself too. Eventually we started getting only static."

There was a long stretch of silence after Alice finished with her story. Ryo didn't know what to say about it. And what was he even supposed to say? It was way too out there, even for him. He'd had his share of near-death experiences, sure, but running headfirst into a Council hotspot wasn't one of them. Her face was averted and for a strangely guilty second Ryo wondered if she was crying. But he was proven wrong as Alice turned toward him, dry-eyed.

"There's no question my friend died," Alice said with finality. "…Which brings me to what _you're_ doing here."

"I told you, I'm here to help out Jenrya and the others. I've got a stake in this too," Ryo surprised himself by coming out and saying it. "It's like I want to see the Real World get stomped anymore than you do."

She didn't blink as it began to drizzle. At the bottom of the stairs, Dobermon was giving the two of them a questioning look of impatience, wondering how long they were going to make him wait. Alice's face fell back into that same coldly indifferent expression, the hurt anger draining away. She continued to stare at him with the same piercing look she'd fixed on him the moment she laid eyes on him.

"So you keep saying," Alice said. "I haven't figured out what to do with you."

"Getting off my back would be nice," Ryo said sarcastically.

"I don't know whose side you're really on or why you look like the real Ryo," Alice's voice took on a hard edge. "But if you ever try to stop Jenrya Lee or Ruki Makino or, in any way, hamper their progress, I will not hesitate to take action. You might look like how Ryo Akiyama used to, but that won't make a difference if Dobermon and I are forced to deal with you."

Ryo's face darkened, "Are you threatening me?"

"Think of it how you like."

Alice turned on her heel and went down to meet Dobermon, leaving Ryo to chew that one over.

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Reika Ootori didn't believe a word of it.

Nagamora had called a giant meeting with all the Hypnos employees to announce a "management change". When he said "Hypnos employees", he apparently meant _everyone_. Even the janitors and lowest level technicians were cramming into the conference room. Now that everyone was here, most forced to stand since there weren't enough seats to accommodate this many people, Nagamora hadn't even bothered to show up.

Instead, it was Kincaid who strode into the room to brief them. Reika glared at the back of the woman's head as she headed to the front of the room, not even realizing she was staring silent daggers.

Reika kept Yamaki's laptop under her arm with her at all times now. Ever since he disappeared a few days ago, she had noticed strange things happening near his apartment. Once, walking down the street past his apartment, she noticed lights up on his level, coming from his windows. She went instinctively to her cell phone to call her boss's personal number, only to stop. He wasn't there to pick up – she had tried earlier - and she hadn't gone to investigate who was going through his apartment. Something told her Yamaki hadn't come back to get his things.

She didn't buy that whole London-Hypnos branch story in the first place Kincaid was trotting out.

_What did they do with Yamaki?_ Reika was careful to keep to the back of the room, barely visible through the crowd of other employees. Kincaid just finished giving an explanation about "new steps forward" with Hypnos, stating why Yamaki Mitsuo was gone. It seemed perfectly reasonable. Yamaki was a valuable asset, Kincaid said, and since more and more Digimon bio-emerged not just in Japan, but worldwide, he wanted to expand the Hypnos network in the UK.

_Yeah, right,_ Reika thought.

She frowned to herself. Why was she even worrying so much about Yamaki? They were business partners, in bed and in the workplace. Nothing more or less. _But_, Reika decided, watching as Kincaid began handing out folders to everyone, _at least I _knew_ Yamaki was on our side. _

Nagamora definitely wasn't an ally. Kincaid wasn't either.

Reika had seen the video. Well, enough of it that she rushed over to Hypnos as soon she realized what happened. It was too late. Yamaki was gone. Obviously he failed to kill Nagamora since he was still running things, despite the fact he hadn't deigned to show up for his own meeting. By now Reika had seen all the clips Yamaki left on his laptop. So Nagamora was with the Digimon – it explained why the Juggernaut was sealed away, the Yuggoth's blackouts. _But what exactly happened four years ago?_ Reika wondered. The reports on Yamaki's computer were sparse, coded in such a way she suspected only Yamaki and Nagamora (among a choice other few) could read them and actually glean meaning from them. From what she managed to gather, there had been some kind of attack on Yamaki. Something about one casualty and one injury.

Considering how Yamaki stormed out, she could hazard a guess that the casualty was someone important to him.

"Please look over these folders carefully," Kincaid was saying now at the head of the room. She beamed, "We've been doing a good job so far. Let's keep it up."

One employee made a motion at this, catching both Kincaid's and Reika's eye at the same time. She'd seen him around – she guessed he was one of the few outside contacts Yamaki liked to keep. The few times they talked, the two men always came to a disagreement that seemed on the verge of blowing up. Still, Yamaki obviously respected this man, visibly keeping his temper in check during these times.

This man sitting in one of the chairs pushed up the small glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, his thick blur hair standing out in a shock like he hadn't had time to get dressed before the meeting. Reika thought she understood how he felt.

"Are you sure Hypnos is progressing? If I recall correctly, there have been a large number of setbacks within this past month alone. It's very easy for a Digimon to bio-emerge at this point in time."

The smile on Kincaid's face twitched, but she only nodded.

"You've got a point, Mr. Lee," Kincaid said, leaning against the wall near the image projector and holding the extra folders under her arm. "But we've been recovering. Besides, you shouldn't worry yourself too much over Hypnos affairs, as I believe your contract position is no longer needed due to recent policy changes. Thank you. Next question?"

_Lee? Oh._ That had to be Janyuu Lee, Reika realized. He was mentioned in hundreds of the classified reports, cited as being an expert on Digimon because he used to be a Monster Maker. Janyuu settled into his chair with a disgruntled look – it wasn't so much his layoff that bothered him, but the fact Kincaid – and apparently Nagamora – had dismissed his expertise so quickly. _Maybe he can help me figure out what to do_, Reika thought. If anyone would know how to properly decode the files in Yamaki's laptop or explain anything, it would be Janyuu.

The rest of the meeting continued. It was only when someone asked about Nagamora that Kincaid's smile faltered a little.

"I'm afraid he's fallen ill; he's human too, y'know," Kincaid said, shaking her head as if she was regretting the gall of the janitor who asked such a stupid question. "Not all of us can afford to come to work and make things worse. Bad for the health and all that."

The woman in the blue janitor's jumpsuit blushed and suddenly had no other questions.

"Okay, I think that's it. Thanks for coming," Kincaid said cheerfully.

The crowd cramped inside the conference room filed out. Reika pushed through the other employees, trying to follow Janyuu's blue hair through the horde of people between them. She caught up with him outside of the conference room, next to one of the huge windows overlooking Tokyo. Other employees streamed past.

"Mr. Lee?"

Janyuu turned at the sound of her voice. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Reika Ootori," Reika held out her hand. Janyuu shook it warily. "I used to work directly under Yamaki Mitsuo. You've probably seen me around. I was wondering if I could have a bit of your time?"

"Sure. I'm guessing this is private?"

Reika nodded. Janyuu turned and led her down the halls and toward the fire escape. He held open the door as Reika followed him inside. They continued their trek down the windowless stairs. The two had gone down a few floors before Janyuu stopped and opened the door onto the current floor: it looked almost exactly like the one they just left.

"This floor's supposed to be remodeled soon," he explained. They went into one of the offices with a window view. The carpet had been ripped out here, leaving only a few folding chairs, several discarded soda cans and not much else. Janyuu sat down in one of the plastic chairs as Reika sat in another. The view outside was as spectacular as the view from the very top of the Metropolis Government Office Building. Clouds reappeared over the sprawling city below, the sky now a light, blue-gray as drizzle began to fall. Reika leaned forward, Yamaki's laptop lying flat on her lap.

"I've got a problem. It's not just that Yamaki supposedly went up and left," it was clear she didn't believe this as Reika continued, "But all of this. I think Hypnos is in trouble. I was hoping you could help."

"With what? Look, I'm just a programmer, I can't – "

"You're an expert on Digimon. And I believe your son is partnered with one."

Janyuu stuttered at this, trying to say those were rumors, stammered his son only played the game and had a few of the toys. Nothing more. Reika tried to offer a comforting smile to show she wasn't out to blackmail him or anything. She turned the laptop toward him and turned it on.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lee. Only Yamaki and myself knew about it – your secret is safe," Reika reassured him. Janyuu deflated slightly at this. They waited for the laptop to finish booting up. Drizzle dotted the window. "I'm not sure how far I can trust Hypnos, not if Yamaki's not at the helm anymore. That's why I came to you."

"You didn't believe that whole crock about him going to London either?"

"I've known him longer than anyone else. Yamaki would've at least given _some_ sort of warning," the laptop finished booting up and she opened the clip that her boss had been watching before he disappeared. Reika turned the screen toward the Janyuu. "Please watch this – it explains some of what's been happening with Hypnos."

Janyuu watched. His eyebrows kept rising higher and higher as the file played. His lips parted in astonishment as he recognized Nagamora in the clip with Musyamon. By the time the clip finished playing, he was looking up at Reika with furrowed eyebrows, "What _is_ this? Where'd it come from?"

"It was something Yamaki was watching before he vanished," Reika replied. She stopped the clip. "There's a report that comes with the clip, but I can't read it. It's encoded pretty heavily. I was hoping you could go through them and tell me what this is all about. All I know is that Nagamora isn't working to further Hypnos. We can't trust him. Or Kincaid."

Janyuu leaned over and began quickly looking through the laptop, seeing what was on it and using Reika's knees as a makeshift table. Whatever he saw, it made his expression darken even further. Long minutes passed as he scanned what had been practically meaningless to Reika's eyes. He eventually pulled away, one hand on his chin as he sat back. The fragile plastic chair gave a squeak but held under his shifting weight. He looked up at Reika.

"What happened in that video was the most recent extermination incident. According to that report, they called exterminations like those 'purging'," Janyuu said, frowning. "I see references to some kind of Council. I'm guessing they're overseers or something, since Nagamora reports back to them on schedule. And since he's working with the Digimon, this Council..."

"What's wrong?"

Janyuu shook his head. "This Council has been reuniting all the Digital World sectors for the past couple of years," he said. "My son has some friends who seem to know what's going on. He told me they're going to try to open some kind of rift in Tokyo between our World and the Digital one. If Nagamora's reporting back to them, it's probable they're using Hypnos to achieve this."

_"Your savior is the harbinger of the digital apocalypse."_

Reika's face paled at this. So her guess about the mystery e-mail was right! She felt sick. If Yamaki had this confirmed to his face, he would've been crushed his life's work was being used against him.

"How could they possibly open up a rift?" she asked softly.

Janyuu thought about this. He reached up and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "I'm not sure. It would take not only a lot of physical power to accomplish anything like that, it would also take a staggering, impossible amount of data as well. According to the research, it just can't be done with the technology and data levels of today. Not yet."

"We keep the data from the Digimon we've deleted in the past," Reika said slowly.

"That's a lot, but it's only a fraction of what they need." Janyuu paused, his mind racing. "You need the impossible to achieve the impossible. You would need access to more data than is probably available in the world right now. Modern machines simply don't carry that amount of data. And even if you had this amount – theoretically speaking – I just don't see how you could possibly find the sheer amount of computing power you would need for something to work with all of that."

Thunder rolled from somewhere in the distance, followed by a faint flash of lightning at the corner of her eye. Reika sighed. This was worse news than she'd hoped. _If Yamaki was here, he'd __flip_.

"Obviously this isn't impossible since the Digimon – this 'Council' – are trying. They're smart creatures: Digimon don't try something unless they _know_ there's a good chance of success," Janyuu mused aloud. "I don't know. It baffles me where they could be getting all that data this quickly. And what they're going to use to funnel it together so it's highly concentrated."

"Some kind of machine, I'm guessing," Reika hazarded. "I bet it's here in Japan if Nagamora's behind Hypnos."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was here in Tokyo."

A silence as it sank in. Reika tried to think of any machines fitting that bill, attempting to recall the status sheets she glanced at a month ago. There was the new GADD system Hypnos installed into Tokyo eleven months ago. GADD stood for Governmental Anti-Digimon Defense; there hadn't been a use for it since Hypnos itself usually deleted the Digimon before they became a national hazard. While _that_ had access to a lot of digital information, it simply wasn't "smart" enough to sort and concentrate the amount of data Janyuu was talking about. It could only search and destroy and it would only do _that_ when manually activated by a government official armed with the access code. The monthly logs that filtered into Hypnos showed it hadn't ever been activated. It was busy collecting dust.

_What about that Rewodë Project in Silicon Valley?_ Yamaki told her a few times about it. It was supposedly an independent anti-Digimon project without any ties to Hypnos, helmed by the famous Rob McCoy himself to create some "D-Reaper". She hadn't actually seen the surveillance reports on it, so all she knew was that it existed. _But that's just a program. It's not an actual machine_. Besides, that was in the United States.

So Reika could cross _that_ idea out.

_It's not Rewodë or GADD._ So what was left that was in Tokyo that could possibly handle anything like that?

_Wait…Why else would _it_ be sealed away? _Reika had a feeling she was ontos something here. _What better reason to seal it? So no one would get curious about it?_ _Why was it that Kincaid was in charge of it when her Class Level was far too low for something that big? _

_Why would Nagamora give Yamaki the funding to make "it" unless he _knew_ he could use it for his own agenda?_

_Yuggoth and GADD were both predecessors: one was intelligent, the other had a high data capacity. Nagamora personally gave the green-light on all three projects. _

_It's never been used by Hypnos…_

Janyuu jumped as Reika gasped out loud. "What's wrong?" He demanded.

"I just thought of something," Reika's words came in a rush. "What about the Juggernaut?"

Janyuu blinked. "That big thing downstairs? They never finished it."

"If you think about it, we don't know anything about the Juggernaut. I mean, the construction teams kept changing, only one person was in charge of writing up the progress reports. None of us regular staff were allowed near it. I think Yamaki's only seen it, what, twice? And that was in the early stages, so…" Reika said hurriedly, "We don't know know what kind of machine they've actually got down there."

Janyuu frowned. "I think you're making some rather large assumptions, Ms. Ootori…"

"I was just saying everything behind it is suspicious."

Janyuu frowned, still not entirely swayed.

"We've got to do something; I mean, the facts about it are too bizarre to be coincidental…" Reika started. "We should at least consider it a big possibility."

"Assuming it's true, there should be two versions of the Juggernaut progress reports. One for Yamaki and one for Nagamora. Does that laptop happen to have either?" Janyuu got up, shrugging on his overcoat. "Would you mind if I borrowed it for a while?"

Reika hesitated. That was the only possession she saved from Yamaki's apartment besides his lighter and the folders he kept filed away there. The rest were at her own apartment, hidden in a safe location. She reluctantly handed the laptop to Janyuu.

"I'm sorry, but if you borrow that, I must accompany you until it's back in my hands. I hope you won't be offended – it's not that I don't trust you, Mr. Lee. But that's Yamaki's personal laptop. Please understand."

Janyuu gave a solemn nod and held open the door to the window office. She stepped out and together they rode the elevator down to the lobby. They didn't talk as they hit the more populated floors. Reika glanced at each person as they entered the elevator to join them. None of them seemed suspicious. There were mostly workers from the offices leaving to go home, a small tour group with a bunch of little kids. They looked harmless enough, but she didn't dare talk to Janyuu; he avoided eye contact with her, staring forward.

Janyuu headed for his car in the underground parking lot. Reika delayed, loitering a bit around the lobby's marble floors before going out the door after him. Once there, she slid into Janyuu's car silently. He pulled out of the parking garage and onto the street outside. Reika found she kept twisting back around in her seat to see if they were being followed. It didn't look like it, but she kept turning around and around even when they put a couple of miles between the Hypnos and themselves.

_No wonder Yamaki was always so paranoid. _

Reika would be paranoid too if she had to put up with the same things he did on a daily basis…wherever he was now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Juggernaut's timer continued to tick away.

Over twenty-four hours since it passed the internal checkpoint. The clock still counted.

The supercomputer continued to strengthen the Metropolitan Government Office Building. Underground in the city's roots, coils heaved like living flesh, curled and undulated as they tunneled under the surrounding buildings and withdrew with more materials. Above ground, those in the offices noticed a strange series of faint tremors throughout the day, but ignored them. The Juggernaut focused almost entirely on its task. The human children weren't the real threat right now - the threat of collapse from the coming earthquake was far greater than anything else. Its Creator had realized this and halted the flow of Golems until the earthquake would pass. It was best if the machine focused all its attention on its preservation.

Humans would die in this. There was no question about it. A great number, potentially ranging in the thousands.

The Juggernaut found this unsatisfactory. It was a waste of a limited resource – the Juggernaut would only be able to harvest whatever was within the Shield's limits after the earthquake – and it was hardly efficient. Humans didn't multiply as quickly as Digimon could. As a fuel, they didn't self-replenish at an acceptable rate where this waste could be allowed under other circumstances. Live humans at this point were to be considered a commodity.

Cables underneath Tokyo began to bind together in a web-like network. It was impossible for the Juggernaut to cover all of its sectors, but at least the damages would be minimized along with death count. It was a matter of salvaging what could be salvaged.

But again, that couldn't be helped. There were other matters to attend to.

_What was Jenrya doing?_

_Takato was convinced he was up to something. He came and went as often as before. There was nothing really weird in Jenrya's outward behavior. But somehow Takato knew something changed. Jenrya knew _something_, was waiting for it and he'd been too busy to talk to Takato as often as he used to. Too busy to take down that mirror forcing Takato to watch the outside world. Watching the humans out there, watching day turn to night turn to day again._

_It wasn't a real mirror, but he couldn't think of any other name for it. It hurt him inside instead of outside; he almost would've preferred the latter, since outside-pain could turn numb if there was enough of it. There was nowhere to run to. _

_Takato knew Jenrya was only being fair: Jenrya put up with seeing the outside world and since Takato always said he was so close to his friend (they were best friends after all), that meant he had to do the same. Tokyo throbbed with death itself. Pulsed with it, alive with too many diseases to be named. Alive with creatures dying by the second._

_But it was only fair. Jenrya could do it. Jenrya killed like Takato had and death didn't bug him._

_Unlike Jenrya, Takato wasn't so strong. If he could have, he would've squirmed away and made another room to crawl away from seeing like Jenrya did with his million eyes. He couldn't look away no matter how he tried.. Takato shuddered. Even his guilt about the blood on Jenrya's and his hands wouldn't compare to this. It wasn't meant to be torture, Takato heard his voice telling himself faintly. Jenrya meant it for his own good. He'd learn to deal with it. Jenrya had, obviously. _

_But seeing _everything_ like he the first time…Suddenly his guilt just seemed meaningless._

_After all, those people were going to die anyway, if not now. And Jenrya – Takato – killed quickly. Mercifully. . _

_They made death logical._

_He (or was it Jenrya?) didn't kill like humans did. Killing in their terms was fair. Just. Jenrya couldn't understand "just" – nor would he care if he did - and Takato himself barely remembered. But he did know it was "just", even if that word didn't mean very much to him anymore. It meant absolutely nothing to Jenrya, aside from the thousands of varying dictionary definitions he could cite. But Jenrya made death a useful, logical and efficient machine. _

_Suddenly the mirrors inside his hiding spot flipped to something he hadn't ever seen before. _

_Darkness filled the room from all sides. For a second, Takato thought that the punishment – "lesson" he corrected himself again - was over. It wasn't. He was simply seeing something with little light. It was very dark and he had to let his eyes adjust. Eventually he did get used to the change in lighting, and he stared around him. Metal snakes of various widths were oozing over one another slowly, pulsating together as if they shared one synchronized heart. Every now and then Takato caught a glimpse of something white through the snakes' rubber and metal segments._

_It took him a long, dull second before he realized that he was looking at himself. This was how Jenrya saw him: a body locked down with milky metal bands to a strange throne of some kind, a gently sloping, spotlessly white helmet covering his face from the eyes up as pulsing wires curved back into the rest of Jenrya's other body. _

_Takato didn't like looking at himself, at that human body trapped within the teeming nest of snakes. It made him uneasy for some reason. _

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

"We're still on Garurumon's tail, right?" Jenrya yelled over the wind.

Ruki nodded, shouting back over her shoulder, "The trail's still pretty fresh even with this drizzle. We're moving as fast as he is, so if he stops, we'll catch up. We're probably only a mile behind him."

Jenrya focused on holding on as Kyuubimon made another sailing bound that took them over several roofs. He kept his arms tightly linked around Ruki's waist, Terriermon clinging to the backpack looped around his shoulders. Ruki seemed to have no trouble riding her partner. Her legs tightened automatically at certain motions, shifting to the side as Kyuubimon leaned into a turn without even thinking about it. Jenrya, on the other hand, found himself half-convinced he'd bounced right off to hit the street far below before they caught up to Garurumon. This was his first time riding Kyuubimon and he could honestly say this wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat, ever.

Terriermon didn't even care. He was having the time of his life, a wide grin pasted on his face as wind whistled past. The Rookie cackled with glee right in Jenrya's ear.

Garurumon and the fake Takato led them on a twisted route. They went several miles out past Shinjuku's boundaries into the next district, only to turn around and zig-zag back in. Now they were heading around the twin towers of the Metropolitan Government Office Building, standing tall above its neighbors. There was no mistake that Garurumon and the fake Takato were making a beeline for it.

Jenrya didn't know what Ruki planned to do once they caught up. _She can't possibly think of attacking Garurumon_, Jenrya thought. The previous battle been so hot considering it was two against one. Somehow Jenrya had a feeling Kyuubimon wouldn't be able to get the upper hand on the Wolf. Not when she was weighed down with passengers, not when Garurumon was with false-Takato. Jenrya still remembered how "Takato" fought Terriermon.

They were within two miles of the large skyscraper when Garurumon came into view. He was running along the rooftops with another Digimon. Jenrya squinted through the drizzle at the two figures in the distance. Where was the fake Takato? The gaunt creature galloping next to Garurumon resembled a large starved horse, its hooves beating along the rooftops, a thick mane whipping behind it. The equine face looked like a mutated skull with its skin pulled back almost to the breaking point; Jenrya gasped as the Digimon turned its head over its bony shoulder. Thinly curved fangs replaced normal teeth, the eyes nearly all eye-white except for the wild blue-irises glowing with a life of their own even this far away. The unknown Digimon wheeled around and stood his ground, his serpentine tail lashing out behind him.

"_WRM Blast_!"

A rapid volley of purple energy suddenly rocketed toward Kyuubimon, fired from the twisted Digimon's jaws. Kyuubimon veered to the left as the barrage exploded where she once stood, beads of light bouncing this way and that like dozens of glittering metal ball-bearings. Garurumon, noticing his escort wasn't following, was turning around to join the unknown Digimon even as Kyuubimon retaliated.

"Everyone, duck!" Ruki yelled.

Jenrya quickly leaned forward to make himself as small as possible with Ruki and Terriermon as Kyuubimon's nine tails rose up above them. Ghostly blue fire shone in a glowing ring about them, floating in mid-air.

"_Fox Tail Inferno_!"

A salvo shot forward from Kyuubimon's raised tails. The unknown Digimon leaped to the side, staggered backward as one of the blazing shots bowled into his shoulder and sent him skidding back several paces. Garurumon leapt in front of his escort before Kyuubimon could strike again. There was a look of humiliated anger in the unknown Digimon's eyes aimed at the Wolf's back. If these two Digimon were allies, it was not because of choice.

In fact, they were arguing.

"Keep going, you fool!" snarled the twisted, horse-like one through his fangs. "I'll catch up!"

"I won't let you fight this scum by yourself, Kaminmon!" Garurumon retorted.

"You're no good to my Mistress deleted!"

"I _don't_ run!" Garurumon growled. "I don't care about your Mistress!"

"Just _go_!"

Garurumon ignored Kaminmon. His jaws snapped open. Blue energy crackled in bolts around his snout, "_Howling Blaster!_"

Kyuubimon danced out of the beam's path. The rooftop where it hit burned for a few seconds before the scorched area became encased in a sheet of ice. Jenrya held on for all he was worth, his knuckles white as he dug his fingers into his hands to keep them locked together around Ruki's waist – he wanted to jump off so he could help, but they were moving so quickly that one second they would be running along the roof, the next second suddenly sailing through the air to the next building. Ruki was busy snapping warnings to Kyuubimon.

The Champion dove down in between two buildings – her legs splayed stiffly under her as she sailed down – and landed in the dark alley. Overhead, Kaminmon's WRM Shot flew wide as his target dropped down out of sight. There was a brief moment of bickering from the two Digimon on the rooftop as they argued whether to keep fighting or run.

"Ruki, you need to give us time to get off!" Jenrya shouted. "You guys can't fight them alone!"

"No time!" Ruki replied. "You won't have enough time to get off and help Terriermon evolve into Gargomon!"

Jenrya tried to protest. "But –!"

"Kyuubimon and I can handle it!" Ruki interrupted him. Her body tensed under Jenrya's arms as she looked up sharply. "Here they come!"

Kaminmon's grotesque head was peering over the rooftop now, snout pulled back in a permanent leer by his mutated skin. He looked up, gave a little duck and snarled in anger as Garurumon bounded right over his head and down into the alley. The Wolf shook himself, fur bristling. Even as he landed, the blue energy of his Howling Blaster was crackling about his snout. Kyuubimon's tails started to rise in response.

"_WRM Blast_!"

"_Howling Blaster_!"

"_Fox Tail Inferno_!"

The fight was strangely even despite the fact Kyuubimon was outnumbered. Kaminmon – and Garurumon spent a lot of the battle focused on arguing with each other rather than working as a team against their common enemy. Kaminmon wanted to take care of them himself, but Garurumon would have none of it. For a few minutes, the Digimon fired off potshots at each other. The standoff spilled along the street and then back onto the rooftops. It was only when the fight had backed within almost a mile of the Tokyo Metropolis Government Office Building that Kaminmon turned without warning and ran. Garurumon paused and then went unwillingly after him.

Kyuubimon gave chase. The flames around her claws and tail flickered brightly as she went after the two Digimon.

"We've got 'em," Ruki said. She made a motion with her head, "Jenrya, do me a favor. Reach into my pocket and get the card in there!"

Jenrya clung onto Ruki and felt around the pocket in question, praying he wouldn't slip and slide right off. He managed to pull out the card without any hitches and awkwardly handed it to Ruki, the other juggled her D-Arc so she could slash the card.

But she never got a chance to use it.

They'd just crossed within the mile radius of the twin towers dwarfing them when the area exploded into a mass of cables.

Jenrya gave a warning shout as hundreds of sparking… _things_ erupted up from the street directly in front of them to form a solid, throbbing wall. Kyuubimon bolted into a sharp u-turn as cables shot forward and dived into the building they were on. The roof caved in under the sheer force, sending up a thick cloud of dust and debris rocketing straight up in the air. Jenrya glanced over his shoulder. Several of the tentacles rose up and spiraled through the haze of the dust cloud after them.

Dozens of inch-thick wires darted forward ahead of the huge mass rising up in the back. They moved in bizarre jerking motions that spurted forward, making them hard to predict. Kyuubimon was hard pressed to keep from getting speared by them as they encircled her and plunged into the ground like rifle-shots.

A shadow was curving along their path. The sky darkened. Jenrya looked up. His eyes widened. Two enormous cables arched through the drizzle above their heads, dropping down toward the four of them with a screaming whistle of wind rushing past metal. They seemed to be impossibly _huge_, the diameters of each easily several yards across and blotting out the light overhead.

"Kyuubimon, _turn_ _right_!" Jenrya shouted desperately.

Kyuubimon didn't wait for any orders from Ruki. She went right. Her paws practically flew under her. To the left, the two cables collapsed into the roof of the store they leaped onto. The store simply vanished under the mass of the two huge cables as they obliterated whatever was under them. Somewhere, glass windows tinkled as steel bent and folded in on itself with a drowned-out whine. Kyuubimon kept up the frantic pace, head bent low until it was parallel to the roof tops.

A flurry of explosions roared behind them, shrapnel flying forward to pelt Kyuubimon and her riders.

Several minutes passed before Jenrya realized their attackers had fallen behind. The deafening noise wasn't surrounding them, instead becoming fainter and fainter. Heart still thudding in his chest, the beats echoing in his ears, the Tamer glanced over his shoulder. Thick dust was still hovering in the air far behind them. He thought he could still see the coils off in the distance slithering back through the clouds of debris, sparking with electricity as they slid up into the air and then silently back into the ground and out of view. Kaminmon and Garurumon were nowhere to be seen.

Kyuubimon didn't begin to slow down until she put another mile and then another and another between them and the Tokyo Metropolis Government Office. The pace began to slacken, her chest heaving as her breakneck speed slowed into a gallop, slowed further into a canter and then finally into an exhausted trot. Jenrya could feel her sides billowing in and out as the Champion sucked in wheezing breaths. Another glance behind them. The dust cloud hovered, but was silent again.

_Just what _was_ that?_ Jenrya frowned. His heart was still doing that dance in his chest, adrenaline pumping. _Another ambush?_

Kyuubimon wheezed for breath. Ruki leaned forward, patting her partner's thick white mane, but said nothing.

They retreated all the way back to the park before anyone spoke up. By then, Kyuubimon had regained her breath as she came to a halt on the wet grass. Jenrya pulled away from Ruki after un-looping his hands from around her waist. He'd been holding on so tightly that the back of his hands bore marks left from his nails, his fingers stiff and painful to move. The two humans slid off Kyuubimon's back.

Ruki dusted herself off as Kyuubimon changed back to Renamon.

"That was fun," Ruki said. Her tone made it clear it as anything but. "I'm guessing going back right now is a lost cause."

"At least we know where Garurumon's at," Jenrya tried to be positive. He bent and helped Terriermon free from the backpack. His partner clambered to perch on Jenrya's mess of blue hair. "I don't think that whole thing was an ambush, do you?"

"I noticed we didn't get attacked until we came within a certain distance of that skyscraper," Renamon gestured over her spiked shoulder toward the building, almost completely hidden behind the treetops. "The attack stopped after we were out of that range. Perhaps it was some sort of automatic self-defense system?"

"Seemed like it," Ruki agreed. "Those wire things weren't moving like they did the last time. It seemed like some kinda knee-jerk reaction."

"It didn't attack Garurumon and that freaky Digimon with him," Terriermon chimed in from his position on Jenrya's head. "Doesn't seem that knee-jerk to me."

"I'm guessing something about _us_ set this automatic 'self-defense' off," Jenrya said after a moment of thought, "But if there's that crazy of a defense around the Metropolitan Government Office Building, it means there's something important about it…maybe that's where that fake Takato – or that Kaminmon thing – are taking all the bio-emerged Digimon?"

"Probably," Ruki glanced at her watch. Jenrya had to jog a few feet to keep up with Ruki as she started down the grassy hill. She nearly slipped on the wet grass, slick from the drizzle, but managed to keep her balance. The Tamer continued resolutely down the knoll toward the path leading to the park's entrance.

"Where're you going?"

Ruki glanced at Jenrya. "I'm going to go find a payphone and call Alice and Ryo."

"Why don't you use your cell-phone?" Jenrya asked.

The other Tamer made a face. "Remember Dobermon's little EMP blast? It practically fried my cell. I forgot to ask my grandmother if I could borrow hers."

Jenrya blinked. Chances were, his cell was the same state since he and Ryo had been in the blast radius of Alice and Dobermon's E-Pulse Stromstärke. _Shoot._ And here he'd been telling the others a few days ago they could keep in contact with the cell phones. _A bit hard to do if none of them work_, Jenrya thought, irritated he hadn't thought to make sure everything worked before saying that. _Good going, Jen._

He followed Ruki to the nearest payphone by the street against the park's outer wall. Ruki didn't have enough yen for the call; Jenrya gave her his phone card. Ruki took it, muttered something about paying him back and picked up the receiver. She inserted the phone card inside the slot and waited for the dial tone. Hearing it, she dialed in the number of the cell phone Rumiko let Alice borrow.

Jenrya waited as the phone rang in Ruki's ear for a few seconds. Now that he knew about the cell phone thing, he was getting worried. What if his Dad tried to call or e-mail him, only to find he couldn't get through? _I better try to get back home after this…_

"Alice?" Ruki asked into the receiver. "Are you in Odaiba?"

A brief silence as she listened to the other voice on the line.

"You're almost at the harbor? …Okay….Okay. Yeah. So that blue energy is still there?" Ruki glanced at Jenrya and frowned, but continued to speak into the receiver. "We had a problem going after Garurumon. I'll tell you when you get back since I don't want to eat up Jenrya's phone card."

Another pause as Ruki listened. Jenrya held up his hand, started to say something but closed his mouth when he saw the other Tamer was completely engrossed in listening to Alice.

"…So there's no sign of Zudomon?" Ruki frowned. "….No. What? No, I wouldn't try hitting the water to see if he's still there. You can't handle an Ultimate by yourself."

Jenrya glanced out toward the street. A few cars lined the other side, rain dotting their hoods and windows. They were the only people he could see; apparently these days most people didn't dare venture out in a place as secluded as the park. No telling if you would suddenly up and disappear without warning. He had to wonder if the rest of Tokyo outside looked like this. Was it only Shinjuku? His attention wandered for a bit before coming back to Ruki.

"…does Ryo recognize any of it?" Ruki was saying. "Can I talk to him for a second?"

A drawn silence from Alice's end. And then Ryo was on the other end of the line. Jenrya could hear the other boy's familiar voice filtering through the phone, but he couldn't make out the words.

"…It does look like you've seen it before?"

A sound of confirmation from Ryo. His words were tinny. Ruki shot a look at Jenrya as the payphone gave a warning beep to indicate the card was a minute away from completely expiring. _It's almost out?_ Ruki mouthed to Jenrya in exasperation. He nodded sheepishly. _I didn't get a chance to tell you_, he mouthed back. Ruki rolled her eyes at this.

"Can't talk long. Phone card's about to go out," Ruki said into the receiver. "What exactly is it we're dealing with here, Ryo? If you recognized it, you should have at least more of an idea than we do."

Ryo apparently began to launch into his own speculations when Ruki suddenly made a sound of disgust; the call had been cut short, the spent phone-card ejected from the payphone. She turned to Jenrya.

"You have another card?"

Jenrya shook his head.

"We'll have to wait until either they get back or we get home," Ruki glanced at Renamon. "I probably need to get going anyway. My mom said she wanted me back as soon as possible so we can start evacuating."

"Same here," Jenrya said. His stomach jumped, "I'm worried about the Matsudas."

"…We'll figure something out about them," Ruki said after a pause. She started down the street back in the general direction of her house, Renamon at her side. The Tamer turned and stopped, seeing his dark expression. "Look. I don't normally give advice. You can do better things with your time besides constantly worrying over everything. Just chill out – that's supposed to be your specialty."

Jenrya watched her go without volunteering an answer to that parting remark. The drizzle had begun to lift by now and stopped completely by the time she was out of view. Jenrya turned and went their own way through the streets, the scent of wet asphalt rising around them. Clouds continued to hover over Shinjuku, stained blue by the aura emitting from Odaiba. Terriermon looked thoughtful from his perch on his partner's head. The Rookie tapped a stubby black claw on Jenrya's head:

"She's right, y'know," Terriermon finally said.

Jenrya stopped at the intersection, glancing right and then left for any approaching cars before quickly jaywalking across the street, "What, that I should stop worrying about people? That's a bit cold, don't you think?"

"I don't think Ruki meant it like that."

"Okay, so tell me what she meant."

"I think…" Terriermon paused carefully, his words slow, "I think she means momentai, y'know? Sometimes things are out of our control. No point in wasting time worrying about those if it means you can use that time to help with what _is_ in your control."

"It's not a waste of time to be worried about the Matsudas," Jenrya said. "I want to still help them. I want Takato to have a family to return to when he gets back."

Terriermon sounded resigned. "I know…just don't burn yourself out, Jenrya."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Time passed outside. Jenrya had been observing this for some time, Takato unable to help eavesdropping, his voice repeating. It surrounded him, cold, logical, almost unrecognizable as his friend's. Takato couldn't understand some of what Jenrya said. For a while, it sounded like Jenrya was repeating numbers, sets of zeroes and ones, over and over again. Some kind of code that Takato could _almost_ understand, but for awhile it evaded his fingers, slipped through them like fine sand. Eventually he thought he could break it down, if he listened hard enough._

_It was a countdown. _

**Fifteen hours. Twenty-two minutes. Five seconds. 0.4 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 2 percent.**

_Fifteen hours? _

_A few hours ago, he felt something wrong. Even surrounded by the mirrors, he sensed at the same time as Jenrya. A deafening series of alarms went off and sent him huddling to the floor on his knees, clapping hands to his ears, and squeezing his eyes shut as something flashed overheard. Without warning, the room was cast into pure darkness as practically all systems and running programs came to a screeching halt in whatever they were doing and abruptly rerouted into various defensive modes. Silence that lasted less than a second. And then Takato could feel Jenrya moving with him again, even though he didn't remember commanding all their limbs to lash out like that. Black Growlmon had been immediately recalled from his position in Ueno, but that hadn't been necessary when intruders were quickly driven away. Erything flicked back online. New data flowing through told Takato that nothing had been damaged. _

_The threat was gone. _

_It had been too close this time. Not in some remote corner of Shinjuku, but right in its center._

_Right where it could be vulnerable._

_The mirror room was one of the last things to come back online. Everything else returned to their original functions and operated as quietly and smoothly as before the interruption. For a few seconds, Takato was bathed in perfect darkness, unable to hear or see or even feel the floor under him, but still strangely aware of what happened (nearly happened) around Jenrya's heart. The intrusion attempt was noted and logged away into a file. Fire trucks and ambulances were now arriving at the scene. Three deaths. Two from crushing, one in the fire that broke out. The burns had been too severe, making the casualty count for this incident come out to three since the female human died on location._

_Jenrya's voice told him that three casualties, while a regretful loss, would not make a difference. Three was a small price to pay to ensure those intruders wouldn't damage anything internal. Three lives in exchange for their own._

_An obvious choice. They were the greater being; stronger, more intelligent. Better.._

_The countdown resumed as if nothing happened._

_Soon the mirror room came back. Still kneeling, hands resting on the floor as sight, hearing and touch returned, Takato found himself staring right into his own blinded face amidst Jenrya's snake nests. _

_Why was Jenrya doing this? Takato's red eyes darted about the room. Metal snakes writhing and shifting everywhere. On the floor, walls, and ceiling, in such sharp detail that they could have been right here in the room with him. This couldn't be how Jenrya looked. It wasn't right. That couldn't be how Takato looked either, sitting pale and prone in that throne, wires of various colors curling up into the rest of the moving mass from the headpiece covering his face from his eyes up. _

_No matter what he told himself – or what Jenrya wanted him to believe – he knew instinctively this was Jenrya's true form. Just a mass of electronics and coils, attached to Takato like a parasite because that was what he was._

_(Jenrya was ugly)._

**Fourteen hours. Two minutes. Six seconds. 0.01 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 6 percent.**

_Takato had tried to think carefully about why he was watching himself and Jenrya. Maybe it was a trick, a test? Stupid, Jenrya didn't play tricks, found tests useless if they didn't produce results. Takato watched as one of the thin wires pulled itself free from his check, leaving a small gash with ragged edges from which a little blood dribbled down, and slithered away. Another promptly came to replace it. The coils surrounding the other unmoving boy continued to throb gently, an endless collection of giant organs through which not-blood pulsed from some invisible heart. Aside from the internal countdown and the scrapes of Jenrya's organs against one another, there wasn't any sound, at least nothing he immediately noticed._

_It took awhile for Takato to realize he could _hear_ his own breathing. It was shallow and forced, drawn trembling in through a thin chest that rose up and down, up and down like a barely functioning pump. It was worse than seeing Jenrya's real body around him._

**Thirteen hours. Thirty-five minutes. Zero seconds. 0.4 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 4 percent.**

_The breathing kept going. Takato wondered when it was finally going to stop. Hoped it would. _

_The milliseconds, seconds, minutes and hours continued to tick past. The weak breaths echoed in the room. A terrified thought. What if this wasn't planned? What if Jenrya really had forgotten about him? That Jenrya was actually capable of forgetting? Takato knew thinking about all these questions was dangerous, really dangerous, but he couldn't stop himself. What if those faceless coils were _really_ Jenrya and the Jenrya he knew was a fake, a fake with gray-within black eyes and claws, and a voice without words?_

**Eleven hours. Ten minutes. Six seconds. 0.02 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 2 percent.**

_Jenrya couldn't be a fake, Takato worried, biting his lip. So what if he looked different? He was still the same person. People grew up and changed all the time. Jenrya was no different, right? But Takato could only continue to stare at the nest of coils snaking over each other. The barest flicker of doubt. That couldn't be Jenrya. Unaware his distress had multiplied until it started to act his thoughts out, unbidden, the Will began unconsciously accessing files, unaware of his own activities. The one from the recent intruders popped up and opened on its own. A floating screen suddenly appeared in the mirror-room. _

_What's this? Takato leaned forward. _

_On screen, two Digimon were approaching Jenrya's home. One was the Creator's servant. The other, Garurumon, was on file, dating back from the days of the Purge as one of the successful recoveries of the first traitors. Garurumon and Kaminmon were pursued by others, the file's binary translating into images for the Will. Takato stared as they came into view and the cameras fixed on them. A large golden fox-Digimon was racing after the two Digimon further up ahead. Passengers clung to her fur. There were two humans. One was a girl with auburn hair pulled up into a ragged pony-tail. She seemed vaguely familiar but Takato couldn't place her name. But there were files on her too. She was a threat, deadly to both Jenrya and Takato. She was one of the ones that Takato hadn't been able to kill._

_And the other rider…_

_…Was Jenrya._

_No, it was all wrong. Jenrya was here. It was some kinda trick the enemy was using. Takato leaned forward and stared at the other Jenrya, unable to help a morbid fascination at this version. He doesn't look like Jenrya, Takato thought. This one didn't have the alien eyes, or those metal claws. This one's face was…expressive. His motions were too sloppy. Too flawed. Too human. Not perfect and smooth, controlled. There was something even stranger aside from those differences and it took Takato a long moment to realize what it was._

_The other Jenrya's lips were moving._

_Jenrya's lips __never__ moved. He didn't have a voice; he couldn't, Takato knew he was a mute all his life. He spoke in zeroes and ones only Takato could understand. His voice was all and nothing, something that couldn't be touched yet was real. Very real. This couldn't be Jenrya, this other boy with blue hair and gray eyes and lips that moved. All of this had to be another test of Takato's obedience. But why? If it was a test, he would've already passed it. Takato already knew who the real Jenrya was. The test should be over._

**Ten hours. Fifteen minutes. Fifty-six seconds. 0.12 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 2.5 percent.**

_Yet Jenrya didn't appear. _

**Ten hours. Four minutes. Forty-one seconds. 0.1 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 2 percent.**

_Somehow this Jenrya felt familiar.__  
_  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya sat the kitchen table and watched as the strange woman accepted the beer from his dad. What had he said her name was? _Reika?_ The tech snapped open the beer after a polite "thank you" and took a generous sip. Jenrya exchanged looks with Ryo. How was she going to help them? He'd arrived home to find that his Dad beat him there, waiting with strange woman. Freezing in the door, Terriermon sitting on his head, Jenrya stopped and stared, wondering what to say.

His Dad introduced the two of them, saying the woman was "Reika Ootori", a colleague. Hopefully what she knew would help them with the whole Digimon problem. Reika stepped forward at this and held out her manicured hand; it took Jenrya a delayed second to realize she wanted to shake hands with him. Blushing over the fact that he'd his head in the clouds for a moment, he gave her hand a quick squeeze. Reika offered a polite, tight little smile, one that grew slightly frigid as she nodded a hello to Terriermon. Everyone had settled around the kitchen table when Ryo finally returned home.

He waltzed in minutes after Jenrya. Ryo took a moment to remove his shoes and left them at the front before stepping into the hall. His normally spiky hair was matted down from the rain and he excused himself for a second to towel it dry. Ryo eventually joined them at the table, giving Jenrya a look.

"As I said, I work with Ms. Ootori," Janyuu said. He took a small sip from his own beer. "I worked as a part-time consultant, since where she works is…ah…well…?"

Reika nodded. "It's okay. They might as well know by now."

"Are you sure?"

"Perfectly," Reika said. She turned to Ryo and Jenrya. Ryo's expression was cynical, Jenrya's bordering on bewildered. "I work for Hypnos. I believe you've had encounters with us before. Or with what we've been trying to accomplish."

Jenrya tried to remember strange incidents with any adults. There was that one time with the tall blond man in black. And Takato had said something about a battle with Devidramon getting interrupted by the very same guy. "I've never heard of Hypnos."

"Me neither," Ryo shrugged.

Reika took another sip of beer. "I wouldn't be surprised. Most of our work has been a closely kept secret. We're an underground, anti-Digimon organization with a ties to the government and the military," Reika said. She hesitated and pursed her lips, "Actually, you weren't even supposed to hear that part about the government or the military. I just broke a legal agreement I made when I signed on not to mention either in relation to Hypnos."

Jenrya blinked. _There's been an anti-Digimon group this whole time?_

"I'll pretend I didn't hear," Jenrya found himself saying.

"Basically we're the reason you haven't seen a lot of Digimon bio-emerging up until now," Reika continued. "We've been guarding the Real World. Most Digimon we managed to delete before they actually came into our World. In fact, we were expanding our programs so we could start protecting other Digimon hotspots internationally."

She took a minute to finish off her beer. Reika let what she said sink in before she continued. Jenrya had an increasingly astonished expression on his face, Ryo's growing more and more unreadable. Terriermon looked uncomfortable at all this talk of deleting Digimon. Jenrya gave his paw a comforting squeeze.

"However, we've had a number of problems with Hypnos," Reika went on. Her face darkened. "Hypnos's founder – Mitsuo Yamaki – vanished a few days ago. None of us have heard from him since. I'm sure you've noticed the number of Digimon successfully bio-emerging into the Real World's increased over the past couple of weeks. Furthermore, we've made a disturbing discovery about Hypnos's main supporter."

Janyuu produced Yamaki's laptop. Reika quickly showed the clip with Musyamon, Nagamora and Yamaki, explaining it as best as she could with her limited knowledge about the events back then.

"...There," she paused the playing file and pointed at the screen. Jenrya and Ryo leaned forward to look. "I'm told that this was taken about four years ago. We have Musyamon right here," she circled the armored figure with her finger, "but that's not where it gets fun. See that man there? That's Ataru Nagamora. He's the one who's pulling all the strings with Hypnos, especially now that Yamaki isn't here anymore. Essentially he's in control of all our operations."

Ryo watched the clip after Reika un-paused it, his eyebrows drawing together as the bearded man – this Nagamora – and Musyamon conversed over what looked like a human body. Obviously something was up since Musyamon wasn't hefting that huge saber of his and braining Nagamora over the head with it. _That's not a natural behavior_, Ryo thought. Most Digimon were openly hostile to humans. Even the tolerant ones wouldn't be acting like a human was the one who wore the pants in the relationship, not like how Musyamon was ducking his head and bobbing his shoulders this way and that, as if Nagamora made him nervous. As if fear commanded respect from the armored Champion.

"I came to Mr. Lee since I thought I could trust him," Reika gave the laptop back to Janyuu. "This all means Hypnos isn't under our control. Nagamora's allied with the Digimon, with this 'Council'. We have an idea what he wants Hypnos for, but…"

"It's mostly assumptions right now," Janyuu picked up where Reika left off. "I myself need to go over the documents stored in this laptop before anything can become conclusive."

Ryo thought about this. "Where's Hypnos located?"

"The Metropolitan Government Office Building," Reika answered.

"That's the same place where we got attacked today," Jenrya said. His dad's eyebrows furrowed together sharply, shooting him a worried look Jenrya pretended not to see; he usually glossed over the battles. "Ruki, Renamon, Terriermon and I followed these two Digimon there and we hit some kinda automatic defensive system."

Puzzled, Reika frowned, "We don't have _any_ automatic defensive systems. At least not physical ones; the only ones we have are set around the rift perimeters between the Real and Digital Worlds. What was it like?"

Jenrya described the wall of coils from underground, moving like they were jerkily animated to life. Reika blinked at this description. Even before he came to a finish, she looked like she couldn't believe any of it, her lips pursed together in that same displeased look like when she'd met Terriermon.

"You can't just rip stuff like this out of the ground," Reika protested. She began ticking off points on her painted nails, " A Digimon would've just attacked outright than bother with such indirect means. And I can't think of any human designing anything that…advanced? And why didn't I hear this? I was at work today."

"I didn't hear anything either," Janyuu said. "I mean, we should've at least seen _something_…"

"What time were you there?" Jenrya asked. Sitting on his lap, head barely peeping over the table, Terriermon was uncharacteristically quiet. The Tamer guessed the revelation of an anti-Digimon organization gave his partner a lot to think about. Jenrya couldn't blame him. He'd probably need to talk to him after this. At least let him know that this didn't change at all how Jenrya felt about his partner.

Reika brought her finger to his lips, tapping them as she thought. "I got to work around 5:30 this morning. Pretty sure I left around 3:40 in the afternoon."

"I left with Ms. Ootori," Janyuu supplied.

"You must've left before we arrived there," Jenrya answered. "I'm sure the whole thing's on the news or something by now, I mean I can get Ruki and Renamon and –"

"Jenrya, I believe you," Janyuu interrupted. "It's just difficult trying to imagine it. I'm sure what you guys saw really did happen. I mean, with everything else, why not this?"

Ryo leaned across the table. A wince as one of his broken fingers was jostled. "So what do we do now? I mean, what do you expect Jenrya and the others to do? How does this change anything?"

"Hypnos is being _used_. We know that for certain," Janyuu tore off a piece of paper from the graphing notebook sitting on the counter. He came back with a pen and began to write. "We have enough evidence to show it's no longer anti-Digimon. Since it's run by Nagamora, who takes orders from this 'Council' you guys told me about…"

"…I think I get it," Ryo glanced around the table. "We know the Council is aiming to make a breach soon. Probably before the year is out. Has anything else weird happened around there recently?"

"There was the blockade because of the lights in the sky." Reika said.

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "What lights? Did they happen to make a humming sound?"

"Yeah. They circled around Hypnos for a few nights," Reika blinked. "How'd you know?"

"Long story. I know what those things are; I'll explain about them later," Ryo thought about this. "I'd like to know what those Golems were doing at Hypnos."

"We'll work on that. But I'd like to talk about the Digital World, since you brought up the breach," Janyuu replied. He finished writing on the graphing paper and passed it to Jenrya and Ryo. "Here."

Jenrya pulled the graph paper toward him with two fingers. The two boys bent over it. _I wish Dad was neater_, Jenrya thought, giving a mental sigh. _He_ could (barely) read the scrawl in blue pen but he knew Ryo was probably scratching his head and trying to figure out if any of the chicken-scratch were actually words. Janyuu had drawn a series of notes and diagrams on the paper. First was a series of e-mails and phone numbers; among them was Reika's contact. Under it was a rough scribble of several domes overlapping one another and then a bunch of names of things and people with lines drawn to them.

"From what we know, the Digital World is made of several levels," Janyuu said. "Digimon mostly stick on the one I highlighted. It's kind of like climate and people choosing to live in temperate zones. There are several tiers between us and them, which means they're going to have to break past all of those if they want actual contact between our worlds. From what you told me about Rob McCoy's project and what've I've been going through with this laptop, it's going to act a little like Hypnos's current Yuggoth system."

Reika interjected before the two boys could ask: "Yuggoth is basically Hypnos's primary defense. We set up on the first tier's fringes so we can catch any Digimon as they attempt to bio-emerge. That's usually when they're the most vulnerable."

" I used to be a student under Rob: he's highly intelligent. I'm guessing he already knows about Hypnos. And their defense on this first Tier," Janyuu continued. He gestured with a pen toward the outer dome. "From what I've gathered about this Rewodë project of his – this D-Reaper thing you boys mentioned – it's not going to be a complete fringe operator like Yuggoth."

The pen moved to draw a blue line to the second tier.

"D-Reaper will insert itself into the first level: I'm not entirely sure, but Rob's probably going to try to 'cheat' and use the Yuggoth as a stepping stone to get in and sneak past all the security."

Reika looked taken aback at this. Janyuu smiled.

"If he knows about Hypnos, I wouldn't put it past him. He hates wasting effort if it's unnecessary. If Hypnos kept Rewodë on surveillance, he was probably returning the favor," Janyuu tapped the pen tip on the second dome. "Anyway. So D-Reaper is going to leapfrog into this second tier, Tier 2. Tier 2 is essentially what we know as the internet. Digimon generally avoid Tier 2 unless they're going to bio-emerge very soon. D-Reaper will probably set up a copy of itself in Tier 2 and then move onto the third Tier. Remember, this is mostly hypothetical."

Down went the pen to the third dome. Janyuu marked it on the side with the number "3". As an afterthought, he labeled the rest of the Digital World diagram with numbers before continuing.

"Tier 3. This is where our knowledge begins to grow fuzzy since this is basically where the Digital World actually starts. I'm guessing this is where the D-Reaper will make another copy of itself and then move onto the last Tier before the main level. At Tier 4, D-Reaper is probably going to station itself there and spread out: I don't think it'd be able to make it _here_," Janyuu bolded the fifth level. He'd drawn the fifth level as the largest of the domes, "because the Digimon would surely detect it the moment it entered and destroy it."

"So how does this help us?" Ryo asked.

Terriermon spoke up for the first time, "Because if the D-Reaper doesn't insert itself all the way, the other Digimon won't know. Most of us can't detect traps like that or anything outside our World. It'll give it time to prepare for whatever it does."

"Terriermon's right. I don't know if the D-Reaper is going to stay within Tier 4 permanently or if Rob's going to go further than that with it," Janyuu frowned. He circled the fifth dome on the graph paper. "Gathering from what I'm reading about Rewodë in Hypnos's records, its main function is probably going to be defense, just like the Yuggoth. It will stop Digimon from bio-emerging like the Yuggoth does. That's likely its primary function since we can't really afford any offensives, looking at this realistically. And assuming there is some kind of breach – I'm assuming Rob knew about this 'Council' – the D-Reapers in Tiers 4, 3, and 2 will acts as advanced firewalls with Yuggoth acting as point."

He marked the fourth dome again with a little series of wavy lines to show the D-Reaper "net". Janyuu then wrote "T4D-Reaper".

"The D-Reaper on Tier 4 is probably the most important. It's the last defense between our Worlds, so it must be the strongest. It has to either slow this breach down so it won't have enough force to pass into the next level all the way or completely stop it. Tiers 4, 3, and 2 are wide open without the D-Reaper online yet. Right now we have one 'net' – the Yuggoth on Tier 1 – which is theoretically the weakest of the 'nets' I was talking about," Janyuu set down the ballpoint pen and looked about the table at his audience.

"But we're not entirely defenseless," Reika added. "Yuggoth is still online. This breach isn't going to be easy for them to pull off."

"Again, some of this is guesswork. I need to find out just how much Hypnos knows about this; I get the feeling we don't have everything on Rewodë here," Janyuu blew out a breath. "Even if the D-Reaper isn't perfect, it's better than what we have now. The problem we have is time. We need more of it. So we need a way to stall this breach, as Ryo here was telling me."

After that, they spent the next half hour talking about evacuations.

Ruki's family was probably going underground by tonight, Jenrya said. At least that was what the other Tamer told him. Reika guessed she should probably join them if there was room – if there wasn't, well, she could find her own shelter. Janyuu's family would naturally have priority, she reasoned, especially since he had children. Ryo didn't volunteer much during this, but glancing sideways at the taller boy sitting next to him, Jenrya knew he was thinking about Tamayo.

It was nearing eight when Ruki's mom called. Janyuu picked up the phone after the first two rings. Jenrya used this lull to go back to his room. If they really were evacuating, he better start packing. He wandered back to his room, glancing at his dad: Janyuu was still on the phone, voice quiet.

_We've got to do something about Tamayo_, Jenrya thought. Ruki's mom and his Dad would get into contact with the Matsudas. Between the two of them, they might have better luck with Takato's parents than he had. He was sure they would. So that left Ryo's hospitalized guardian.

She was going to be a problem. Jenrya just didn't see how she could be moved. He supposed Ryo was all for kidnapping her right out of the hospital and driving her to wherever they were going to evacuate to, but…well, it wasn't a good idea. None of them had any real medical experience…

"Are we really going to need that much stuff?" Terriermon asked from his position on the desk. The Rookie was lying on his stomach, lop-ears out to each side like wings, his chin resting on his paws.

"I'm probably packing for Ryo too since we haven't gone back to his apartment," Jenrya folded another sweatshirt this time as he spoke. "Besides, it's better to have too much than too little."

Terriermon fell silent for a moment before changing the subject.

"Reika didn't like me. Did you see the way she was looking at me?"

"Well, she's a part of this Hypnos, I'm sure she's more used to chasing Digimon around than actually talking with one," Jenrya stopped in his folding, glancing over at his partner. He tried to offer a reassuring smile. "Look, I wouldn't worry about it."

"Guess I'm not used to people looking at me like that."

"I know. Just don't worry about it. It's not like_ I_ look at you like that."

Terriermon smiled a little. "Yeah," but he was still quiet about all of this. " Just because I'm a Digimon doesn't mean I hate you guys. I mean…um…that is…"

"I know."

"I don't think I'm superior to you or anything."

"I know," Jenrya repeated. He set down the jeans he'd been folding and held out his hands – Terriermon took the cue and hopped off the desk, sailing into his arms slowly. Jenrya reached up and scratched behind the little horn on his partner's head. It was one of the Rookie's weak spots and Terriermon practically purred under the attention. "What she said doesn't change anything about us. We're still partners."

Terriermon looked up at Jenrya. The Tamer rarely saw that expression on his partner's face: a lonely, downcast look that was usually overshadowed by jokes. But it was that look that convinced Jenrya he was going to be there for his partner, no matter what happened. Terriermon didn't like being alone. _That's what he's worried about, isn't it_? Terriermon had been alone in the Digital World, had spent most of it surrounded by no one who considered him an equal, but rather only data fodder. They hadn't exactly talked about that – Terriermon just wasn't comfortable about it – but Jenrya could read behind the lines. And what he saw made it clear that Terriermon wasn't about bad jokes. Those were surface things. What really mattered to Terriermon was his partner and his friends.

They talked a little bit more before Jenrya went back to packing. Jenrya had filled his first duffle bag with a variety of clothing – some shorts, t-shirts, and then plenty of warm clothing - and was working on a suitcase when there was a knock at his door.

"It's open."

Ryo let himself in. "You busy?"

"A little, yeah."

Jenrya struggled with the suitcas, trying to jam it shut. He only had so many hands. Ryo watched for a second before coming over and holding the top down for him. The suitcase's canvas sides bulged out a little, but it remained closed as Jenrya took it by the handle and deposited it next to the bed. Jenrya straightened, Terriermon perched on his shoulder. The other boy glanced about the room.

It was a mess: clothing was thrown all over the place. Clothing that Jenrya decided he would leave behind had been draped over his desk, tossed back into the closet or kicked across the floor. Ryo found a seat next to Jenrya's computer, sitting the opposite way and straddling the desk chair with his arms across its back. He watched for a bit as Jenrya went rooting through his closet and found an old, worn backpack. He dumped the contents on the floor and began making a sweep of his room for anything else he'd need to bring.

"How're you holding up?" Ryo finally spoke up.

Jenrya glanced at him. "Okay. I think. You?"

"Yeah right," Ryo made a derisive snort. "It gets better and better, doesn't it?"

"It'll work out," Jenrya said. He went through his drawers, threw some things into the backpack as Ryo's eyes followed him. "We need to buy time, like Dad said. Once that D-Reaper thing is in place, we can take our time, find out exactly what is going on and figure out how to deal with it."

Ryo rested his chin on the back of the chair, slouching.

"Tomorrow I'm getting Tamayo."

Jenrya glanced at the other boy, frowning. Ryo was looking away with a nonchalant expression, but it was forced. Ryo really had been thinking about his guardian when he'd gone silent. Jenrya sighed. How to approach this? It was a touchy subject.

"We can't move her," Jenrya said. "I mean, we don't have any medicine or anything. I don't know about you, but I don't know how to deal with broken legs."

Ryo's black eyes returned to Jenrya. He recognized that look: it was one of sour disdain. Ryo wasn't even wearing that smile of his this time as he glowered quietly. _Not now, Ryo._ Jenrya didn't really want to get into a fight. Even the little arguments with Ryo were bad enough, although those'd grown less numerous over the days. But touchy subject or not, he said the wrong thing. Both of them knew it. And Ryo wasn't going to let him take back those words.

"What, so it's okay if we leave her?" Ryo's eyes narrowed. "While everyone else hides underground?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what _did_ you mean? Because maybe I'm too stupid to follow you."

Now Ryo was starting to fall back into his old sarcasm. This was a bad sign. Terriermon, noticing the rising tension in the air, mumbled something about food and, hopping down, scurried out of the room to leave the two boys to face each other. Ryo sat up straight now, the old hostility from before starting to come to the surface. Jenrya shook his head.

"I never said that," he replied. "I was saying that we might hurt her or something."

"Like it's any more safe where she is right now," Ryo snorted.

"At least there are people who can take care of her!" Jenrya retorted more sharply than he intended. "What makes you think _you_ can do any better?"

"What makes you think I can't?" Ryo's voice took on a caustic tone, words turning acidic. "It's not like I haven't been injured before and I didn't even have the same medical stuff you've got here. And I'm still alive, so it's not like I'm helpless. Unlike some people."

Jenrya stood startled into silence at this: even Ryo looked surprised, like he hadn't expected the last part to come bursting out. The angry expression was as astonished as Jenrya's and he looked away, eyebrows drawn together. Obviously he hadn't meant to say that and now he was the one trying to take back his words like Jenrya tried earlier.

"I didn't mean that."

Jenrya was quiet. "Really?" he returned dryly. "So what if I didn't go through whatever you did? It doesn't mean I've been pampered. Or that _I_ should go through whatever it was you experienced."

Ryo said nothing, but he didn't do a very a good job masking his hurt. Jenrya could see Ryo was regretting his impulsive remark now – it'd been born from impatience and exasperation just like Jenrya's– but a part of the Tamer refused to let this drop. Sometimes he could only take so much of Ryo being _him_.

"Maybe you really did mean it," Jenrya crossed his arms over his chest. He saw Ryo wince at this. "Maybe I did mean what I said too. We can't keep walking on glass around each other all the time. I can't read your mind. And you're not the only one with people you care about. Tamayo's not the only person out there to worry about; it's selfish to think that she is…"

_Okay, okay. Calm down. You're going too far. _

Jenrya closed his eyes, let out a breath to relax himself, and felt the anger and the desire to get back at Ryo slowly drain away. He didn't want to think about the awful things they said to each other. He wanted to shove it to the side, but it was too hard with Ryo sitting in the same room as him. Sitting down heavily on his bed, Jenrya avoided the other boy's eyes.

"Sorry."

Ryo got up and left without another. Jenrya stared at his hands. Why were they fighting? Looking back on it, it seemed like a part of him knew to word everything wrong, had been looking forward to some kind of confrontation with the other boy. It was wrong and he knew it. Ryo hadn't taken the bait because he _wanted_ to get into an argument like Jenrya did, but because he was that worried about Tamayo and it made him touchy. Jenrya'd snapped at him so easily and he was starting to realize that maybe it hadn't been entirely on accident. Maybe he'd baited Ryo on purpose.

_We can't be fighting right now_. Jenrya felt tired. Both of them needed to keep away from the other for a while until they were ready to face each other again. It'd be a better idea to finish up the packing and then get some sleep. Hopefully everyone would be in better moods tomorrow morning and he'd be ready to apologize and mean it.

But even if he'd unknowingly goaded Ryo on or not, Jenrya couldn't forget the other boy's words. They'd bitten deep.

Was he really helpless?

It was true Jenrya hadn't lived out in the wilderness like it seemed Ryo had. He hadn't ever broken any bones, involuntarily or voluntarily, like the other boy had to save them from Black Growlmon. Jenrya was the one with the normal family, the one who still had friends and a partner Digimon. It wasn't like he was trying to pick up parts of an old life like Ryo. Ryo had practically nothing, except for what Jenrya was starting to suspect was a disregard for his own life. How much of what Ryo said rang true?

Stuff like this was exactly why Jenrya wanted to get some sleep. It was giving him a headache just thinking about it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The moon traveled across the night sky as the final hours trickled down. There were no sightings of Golems at all that night nor any reports of mysterious monsters that could speak like humans. It was quiet, the hushed kind of silence similar to the tense few seconds before a bomb went off. As the countdown continued, the Juggernaut made its final preparations. It sealed up the Metropolitan Government Office Building under which it resided. Most of those working late shifts inside remained unaware of this, although a few tried the lobby doors and found they were jammed shut. Keycards were rejected. Regular keys wouldn't fit in the keyholes. The emergency system to open the doors refused to respond.

There was no going in and out.

Shinjuku had been as reinforced as much as possible with the given time frame. The areas around the barrier's projected borders hadn't been bothered with. The force of the destruction closest to the barrier's borders would be the strongest there; strong enough to even tear the Juggernaut's extensions to shreds if it tried to reinforce those areas.

The Juggernaut was so busy with its final preparations that it didn't immediately notice what its Will was doing.

**Five hours. One minute. Eleven seconds. 0.13 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 2 percent.**

_The Will spent the last couple of hours clumsily accessing files without knowing _he,_ not Jenrya,__ was the one bringing up all the images. Computers closest to the Metropolitan Government Office Building began to flicker on as their owners slept. Hundreds of files were accessed and closed as if a ghost were at the keyboards. Takato wasn't as experienced at the Juggernaut: what would have taken the supercomputer mere seconds – if not less - took him hours despite the fact he was moving at breakneck speeds too fast for any human. The Will jumped from computer to computer. The digital displays on all electronics flickered and pulsed in binary. _

_All Takato knew was that more windows kept appearing and the more he learned, the more he felt sick. This was wrong, seeing another Jenrya. It was like…like something bordering on blasphemy. The knowledge there were two, even if one was obviously a fake, seemed like a recipe for doubts.. Jenrya had to know this, so why…?_

_Why give him a reason to doubt? _

_Why let him see the other Jenrya?_

**Four hours. Six minutes. Thirty-seven seconds. 0.33 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 1 percent.**

_There had to be a reason. Why else would Jenrya make Takato doubt? He did it for his own good. There was always a reason with Jenrya. So there had to be a reason why uneasy fear were beginning to fester alive the more he watched this other Jenrya, gathered information on this stranger with a voice. Takato was almost sure the real Jenrya wanted him to observe this human trying to steal his face. _

_Maybe. _

_Over the hours, Takato managed to pinpoint the sector the other Jenrya lived in. Sometimes his inexperienced control slipped and the Will suddenly found himself fending off hordes of anti-spyware and anti-virus programs, far inferior programs Jenrya would've crushed without even giving it a thought. Takato managed to defend himself under the bombardment, lashing out. Behind him, he left a trail of computers overrun with one word, one name, repeated over and over and over._

_Jenrya. _

_What he learned was that this Jenrya was one of those committing a taboo, the forbidden act of partnering human and Digimon. He was like how Takato used to be. A human boy clearly labeled as an enemy. Takato wasn't sure why, but it was hard to believe someone who looked so much like the real Jenrya could be so cold-blooded._

_What made it worse was he was beginning to realize he wanted to __meet__ this other Jenrya, see for himself if he was really such as threat._

_"I can't do that," Takato whispered, as if the real Jenrya would swoop in any second. "I shouldn't."_

**Three hours. Fifty minutes. Thirty-two seconds. 0.3 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 2 percent.**

_Takato could now see West Shinjuku through the cameras scattered around the area; he had a sinking feeling he'd be punished for showing initiative.. Even though Jenrya hadn't specifically said he couldn't do this, wasn't supposed to do anything other than what the other boy told him, he knew that his friend was going to get angry. Very angry. Jenrya didn't like to put Takato out in the open because he didn't like to share; he'd driven away anyone who tried to get close _his_ Will. But Takato couldn't stop whatever side of him was in control of all this now. _

_Even if he changed his mind about wanting to see this other Jenrya for himself, it was too late. _

_Whether or not he still wanted what he was now seeking, he was going to get it. _

_His vision continued to travel as he kept narrowing down the search. Takato's view turned left at a streetlight. The picture quality of his eyes weren't that good, the images fuzzy at best. The cameras didn't responding well to him controlling them and he didn't know how Jenrya managed to see as clearly as he did. Takato could at least tell dawn was approaching in the distance. The gray toward that direction was lighter. _

_The faint tremors through his – no, _their_ – body announced the ground was becoming unstable. Even without Jenrya's voice counting down the hours, he knew he didn't have much time. _

_Jenrya Lee's apartment. He'd found it._

_It wasn't like he could enter through the door these days - Takato had faint memories of being able to do impossible things like that, but he couldn't do such things anymore. It was an obstacle now. His eyes turned back onto the apartment building; thousands of glittering white lines ran along the interior, electricity coursing through them and irrigating the entire complex with power. _

_A few minutes passed before he found one that led right up onto the other Jenrya's floor._

_Traveling there took seconds, although the lines kept trying to reject him. Takato was blind now since there were no cameras here. He could see the concentrated electricity of the wires he was using as ones and zeros. He could see the general cloud of electricity the humans cast off. But their flesh were good insulators and he couldn't see them as well as the non-organic electrical sources. _

_The hijacked line dropped the Will off in one of the rooms. Takato turned his new eyes on: a television set flickered into life, buzzing with static. There was some color now. These were better eyes, way better than the grayscale ones from outside. Takato liked these new eyes. The room was dark, very different from his own room back home. There was color, and _things_ inside. _

_Takato tried to grasp what their names were. He somehow recognized what they were, knew what they were used for, but their names slipped away. His memory just wasn't what it used to be, full of holes and tears and rips like Jenrya took a clawed finger to tissue paper and poked holes into it at random. Takato knew used a "TV" as his new eyes, but he didn't know what the thing was in front of it. It had four wooden legs and a flat surface. You put things on it. But he couldn't remember its name. _

_There was a human boy lying on the big chair: like the other humans, he cast off a very faint aura of bio-electricity. Something about it bugged Takato, only he couldn't place his finger about it. It looked like the others and didn't look like them. Maybe it was something faulty with his new eyes?_ _This_ _close, Takato ID him as another priority target, the one called Ryo Akiyama. A moment of indecision. Ryo was here. Asleep. Takato could probably kill him right now without even waking him up. It would be more painless than most of the eliminations. It could even give him an excuse to be here and maybe the punishment for his disobedience would be less severe once Jenrya found out. But the Will was here to see this other Jenrya, not carry out their orders. Not kill._

_He'd be lying if he said it wasn't tempting.. _

_"Maybe I can do it afterward," Takato told himself. _

_Yeah._

_That was a good compromise. Do _both.

_He wouldn't feel too guilty if he did it while Ryo asleep. It would be very quick. Very merciful. It was a good plan, good for everyone. Everyone would be happy. Or dead, in the case of Ryo here. Better yet was the fact that Takato had made it on his own. _

_Takato looked about the rest of the room with his new eyes. His presence here sent all the other lesser electronics into little dances of excitement,: turning on silently one by one, those with screens running with binary that he knew matched his thoughts. Four. No, five humans inside. He only was interested in the one right now. The Will looked about for another line and found several he could use._

_The first attempt dumped him in the master bedroom of the apartment. A few lamps turned on. Wrong room. Takato tried again._

_Success._

_Jenrya was here._

_Takato couldn't stop the thrum of excitement. Like the other rooms, lights were turning on. Takato wished these eyes he was borrowing were really his to call his own: he couldn't turn them, get a better view of the blue-haired boy who was slowly waking up because of him. Takato was frustrated. He frowned to himself. _

_Text impatiently scrolled down the computer's glowing screen, as several new files found their way onto Jenrya's computer. Several were images, garbled "memories" Takato forgot to delete from the computer's history – he was too caught up in what he was doing now to shield his own thoughts from overflowing into his surroundings. _

_Jenrya was here. Here was his enemy. Here was the boy with a voice._

_"Wake up," Takato was horrified to find he was actually __talking to the enemy__ now. "Wake up!"_

_This was going too far now. He didn't budge._

_"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."_

_And in the background, far off down the miles and miles, Takato could feel a shifting sensation, like a large mass was rolling over. As if a huge snake turned over its monstrous coils. The real Jenrya was starting to get distracted from whatever kept him so busy. It wouldn't be long before he figured out where Takato ran off to. Takato had to hurry up and finish here, get a nice long look at this boy, kill Ryo and leave before he got dragged away by force. _

_"Come here, Jenrya. Please? I can't see you from here."_

_Takato pleaded to himself to hurry up, pleaded to Jenrya to hurry up, pleaded for more time._

_"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."__  
_  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_Come here, Jenrya. Please? I can't see you from here_."

Someone was here. Who- ? Some voice, just out of his reach, called out to him. Jenrya tossed in his bed, Terriermon making a small sound in his sleep. There was a faint memory of something like this happening before. Jenrya was dreaming. He had to be: there was another voice – the same one? – calling for him and he woken up sitting at his computer for some reason. Jenrya at first tried to go back to sleep, but whoever was here was persistent. It wouldn't go away.

Whoever it was, the voice was begging him to wake up.

"_Wake up. Wake up. Wake up_."

Jenrya's eyes drifted open.

It took him a second to realize all the lights in his room were on. Jenrya froze, still lying on his side and staring at the wall. The feeling that _someone_ was here hadn't faded like dreams did; someone really _was_ here. Without making any sudden movements, the Tamer cautiously glanced about the room only to see Terriermon was still asleep. Aside from his partner, there was no one here. There were just the lights, Terriermon, himself and his computer, on like everything else.

But Jenrya shut that off last night too…

Despite the fact that Jenrya didn't see anyone, he could still feel that strange, ghostlike presence. Jenrya could almost feel unseen eyes straining to see him, turned in his direction. Jenrya didn't count himself as overly skeptical. He'd seen too many strange things. But he didn't believe in ghosts; his willingness to believe drew the line there and checked itself at the door at that point. _A Digimon?_ Jenrya frowned, slowly sitting up. There was no digital field.

Jenrya felt a shudder run up his back. When he'd sat up, the presence strengthened even more, and the hairs on the back of his neck prickled as if someone's cold breath was against his skin. Looking about the room, he tried to pinpoint just where it came from. It seemed like it was emanating from everywhere, from his computer, to the printer, even his alarm clock. Jenrya stared: the clock was going haywire, the red numbers spurting rapidly in a series of ones and zeros almost too fast to follow. Eyes narrowed, Jenrya started to nudge Terriermon awake, but the intrusive presence – neutral so far – suddenly turned hostile. Tension riddled the air. He stopped. A long second. Jenrya slowly moved his hand away from his sleeping partner and the tension faded away, although the sense of urgency remained.

When he cautiously got up and approached the computer, the presence suddenly emitted a pleased feeling that buzzed about the room as Jenrya got close enough to see the screen.

His name was plastered all over.

At the bottom of the screen, his name was hidden in rows of binary, but the most recent additions at the top were that one word, repeated over and over like whatever was behind it was a broken record. The words were scrolling right over his desktop. Behind the march of Jenrya's name across the screen, he could see other activity too. Whatever was in there was unloading so many files onto his hard-drive all at once that several warnings had already popped up in the background warning about remaining memory. It felt like his stomach had frozen in place, ready to do a few nauseated cartwheels.

His name continued to scroll down until it filled up the entire screen, the desktop faintly visible in the back. Why was his name the _only word on the screen_?

One side of him was so weirded out he was ready to shake Terriermon awake, hostility from this thing or not. But another side was morbidly curious, actually wondering if maybe whatever was in here was trying to communicate with him. It clearly knew who he was.

Jenrya reached out and touched the mouse. A new folder had been added. Opening it, Jenrya could only stare for a long, helpless second as he caught sight of the sheer number of new files inside. Video clips, mp3s, text, pictures, even some file types he couldn't even open or recognize.

Everything was in binary. Trying one of the text files only confirmed that: there were rows of it, actual _paragraphs_ of ones and zeroes formatted like some weird textbook. Jenrya couldn't read it – his dad or Ms. Ootori probably could but Jenrya himself had never made it a point to learn how to read binary. Another text file: the same thing, although one word was translated back into standard Japanese and that was – surprise, surprise – his name. It didn't take long for the rest of the file to dissolve into a chaotic jumble with Jenrya's name repeated again and again.

Whatever was here, it was _obsessed_. It loved his name, loved repeating it, loved hearing it, loved seeing it.

Loved it so much it was turning into a twisted language of its own.

During all this, the half-Chinese Tamer could feel those invisible eyes on him, ones that seemed to be only a few inches away from his own face. Like lips were at his bare neck, a breath on his shoulder.

The eyes were still on him as he tried one of the sound files, picking up the headphones still in the speaker jacks and putting them on. At first there was no sound, at least nothing he'd really notice. Just a strange little rustling noise. Like something coarse was moving along another rough surface…and then there was someone breathing in the background, very quiet, and he couldn't tell who it was. The breaths were slow, shallow and whispery.

Jenrya tried another one. This one was different: it was completely silent at first and he didn't expect the sudden wave of static. The Tamer winced as it went up and down, changing its tone almost as if someone were talking. The static rose up and shifted – a quieter "voice" seemed to reply back. A pause. Then the first "speaker" was speaking, the crackling static rising. If Jenrya closed his eyes and relaxed, it almost sounded like there were two unseen people talking over his head. What was all of this?

Jenrya's eyes opened. First the breathing, then the static; he wasn't sure which one was creepier! Jenrya threw a glance behind him, half-expecting to see someone suddenly standing over him. No one. His heart was thudding even though he knew he was alone.

He stumbled upon the picture files. Remembering the mp3s, Jenrya clicked the first one cautiously. A white room, so pure in color that Jenrya almost didn't realize that it was actually a room, not a solid color. Screens littered the area, overrun with static. There didn't seem to be any exits. Jenrya clicked the next picture…

This time he really did jump.

Someone was staring back at him. The picture was blurred too, but this was such a close-up that he could see more than enough. Ragged blue hair framed a bloodless face; it was like looking at a dead body or something. The face wasn't mobile. It was still. Too smooth. But the worst were the eyes. The whites were gone, now stained a black that only made the silver irises stand out. He hurried clicked to the next picture and almost suffered another scare.

Red eyes this time, looking downcast and away from him through a mess of bangs. It wasn't just another face; that wasn't what made him start again.

_Takato __Matsuda._

Jenrya sat frozen to his chair. Even if he couldn't see more than a weird angle of the other boy's face, there was no mistaking who it was. _Takato. That's Takato_, his mind ran in circles. _Takato's okay! _Jenrya forgot about his name plastered all over the place, forgot about that other face with the alien eyes, the breathing, the static and the "voices". It sank in.

Takato was okay.

Staring hard at the picture, he was definitely sure it was Takato. The _real_ one. Not the Digimon posing as him they'd been chasing around for the last couple of days. Takato was missing his goggles, his face turned partially away from the screen in the still. He didn't look good. His expression was drawn, the laugh-dimples totally gone and there was something about him that looked…_off_. Unfocused. Like whatever Takato was looking at, he wasn't really seeing.

Jenrya tried frantically to check the other files, but all he got was a few glimpses of the boy with the weird eyes. Pictures of Shinjuku, Odaiba, the outskirts of Tokyo. A woman with short purple hair going up a flight of stairs. And then they suffered the same fate as the text files when pictures of Jenrya began popping up in between these. At that point, Jenrya closed the image viewer. He really was getting tired of seeing his name mentioned everywhere; he didn't want to start seeing his face doing the same thing.

Takato was still out there. Jenrya buried his face in his hands, rubbing at his eyes and trying to come up with something. No ideas. No plan whatsoever. All he could think of was the look on Takato's face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Takato didn't understand it. Staring at this other Jenrya, watching his face make all these expressions, eating up everything he did, the Will didn't understand it at all. How was this human a threat? He was sitting there at his desk before Takato's eyes with his head buried in his hands in a gesture that meant he was either very tired or very upset. If Takato really wanted to he could kill him right now before his partner even had a chance to wake up. But he didn't. It would be overkill. _

_Besides, seeing this Jenrya like that, cradling his face in his hands…made Takato not want to kill him. It didn't seem fair. _

_It wasn't even taking into account this one looked almost like the real Jenrya. Takato probably couldn't kill even an obvious fake just because of the resemblance alone. It was too close to home. Killing one Jenrya would feel too much like killing the other._

_Takato knew he'd seen enough. He could still feel that shifting, heavy sensation of the real Jenrya/Juggernaut turning over. It was getting worse, getting more frequent; _he_ was going to come very, very soon. Takato had to get out of here – oh yeah, he had to go finish off Ryo Akiyama in the room with the TV-eyes – so he wouldn't be caught so obviously disobeying. He'd seen plenty of this Other Jenrya._

_Yet, for some reason, that wasn't enough. _

_Takato couldn't pull himself away, not when there was so much to watch. Every little motion this Jenrya made was…interesting. It fascinated him and kept him rooted. The tiny changes in posture, the unconscious slouching, the _expressions_: the real Jenrya barely had those. And the voice…there was an actual _voice_! The fake didn't say anything but Takato could still hear the quiet breaths, could tell this one had vocal chords the real Jenrya didn't. _

_In the couple of seconds before Takato felt the rushing heaviness that meant the real Jenrya was coming for him, he suddenly knew _why_ he was here. _

_Maybe _he_ – not Jenrya - had tried to test himself and he'd failed his own experiment. It was all maybes, all ifs, all uncertainties. Takato hadn't been able to strike at the enemy on his own. He hadn't been able to do it. Takato could kill countless strangers from a distance, wipe out entire blocks if he needed to and would find no problem in seeing it as okay. Jenrya saw it as okay, so therefore it was. But Jenrya wasn't going to see what just happened (didn't happen) now, here, as okay. It wasn't okay because Takato had gone off on his own. _

_Takato slowly withdrew from the computer's eyes and waited for Jenrya to come for him; the Juggernaut was already practically on top of him, a huge, overwhelming presence that made him buckle under the pressure alone. _

_Displeasure radiated out from Jenrya. _

**Individual operations outside are prohibited**_, Jenrya said with his non-voice. _**Contact with high-priority targets is prohibited. You've disappointed me once again Takato, betrayed my trust once again. **

_Takato couldn't see Jenrya because he lost his temporary eyes but he could feel those claws closing around his arm. Takato hung his head guiltily at all of Jenrya's words, but couldn't stop himself from looking in the direction of the fake even as the real Jenrya chewed him out._

**You are **_**never**_** to have direct contact with these targets**_, Jenrya was turning and quickly dragging him back home now. The Shinjuku streets flew under them but Takato couldn't see the roads or the buildings since it was Jenrya who was using their outside eyes and not him and Jenrya wasn't sharing now. Takato was blind but he could still feel the Juggernaut/Jenrya all around him, hear him in his head and that didn't make him blind to the electricity of the city, the silver lines weaving a glowing tapestry around them toward home. _**They are **_**threats**_** to us. They can destroy me and kill you. They want to. It's what they live for. It is their **_**function**_** to erase our existence. Do you want to assist them in that function?**

_Takato knew that. Takato didn't want that. Takato hadn't been able to help it. _

**And that is why you are not fit to perform individual operations without my guidance. You are flawed. Perhaps you still do not understand that.**

_Takato didn't. _

**Perhaps you are not ready to be with me.**

_Takato shook his head quickly. He __was_!

_They were back home now, speeding down toward the nest of snakes. Takato could feel the Juggernaut's displeasure, but it wasn't the storm of intense, brutally cold fury that he'd been expecting. Jenrya was too distracted to fully deal with the Will's insubordination. Takato wasn't sure if he should be grateful or not._

**You will of course be punished as I see fit considering the level of your protocol breach.**

_Takato found himself dumped back in his white room – the mirrors were gone, leaving only Jenrya standing before him. The strange infection that changed Jenrya's eyes and hands had now crept up past the elbows now and the shirt his friend wore kept flickering in and out, overrun with strings of static like it was broken. Strange red marks were running up Jenrya's arms in symmetrical lines, the surfaces near the hands hardening over so they gave off a dull gleam under the light. Similar marks were forming under the shirt from what Takato could see through the black shirt's static. _

**I will also consider if I should replace you.**_ Jenrya said simply. _**Being that I cannot afford risking my destruction for your lack of restraint during inappropriate times such as now.**

_That brought Takato up straight. All thoughts of the false Jenrya vanished. The real Jenrya sounded so horribly coy now, his alien eyes narrowed. There was an agonizingly long pause._

**We shall see if such a drastic measure is needed. Perhaps after your punishment, you'll learn to keep yourself under control**

_Takato thought he whispered a "yes" but he was too shaken to remember if he did reply or not. Takato didn't want to be replaced, not when he wanted to be there for Jenrya. Not when he still remembered the promise – was it a promise? A real one? – that he wouldn't get left behind or alone or abandoned. That Jenrya _needed_ him just as much as he needed Jenrya? When Takato looked up, the Juggernaut had vanished, leaving him to his own devices. That was part of the punishment, wasn't it? To make him doubt and fear? Yeah. All he knew was that Jenrya saw everything, knew everything he thought or did. _

_Jenrya was very, very good at punishments. It was a talent. He could punish all like he saw and knew all._

**1 hour. Seven minutes. Two seconds. 0.39 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 1 percent.**

_No more thinking about that fake Jenrya. It was bad for him and it was bad for the real Jenrya. _

_Takato had seen plenty. _

_Somehow plenty wasn't enough._

**0 hours. Fifty minutes. Twenty-three seconds. 0.01 milliseconds. Inaccuracy percentage of count is 0 percent.**

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Terriermon made a face in his sleep. Something for the pat couple of minutes kept bugging him until he bolted awake.

Jenrya was already up and staring moodily at his computer screen, but Terriermon ignored him for the moment. The feeling still nagged at him. Outside, birds were cawing loudly, a few dogs in the distance barking up a storm. Okay, weird. Weird enough he wanted to see what they were barking at. Terriermon hopped off the bed, wanting to smell the air outside – he'd made it to the door and padded to the living room only to see Ryo was starting to sit up from the couch, blinking sleep away and starting to wear the very same puzzled expression Terriermon already had.

"What _is_ that?" Ryo frowned.

Terriermon was struggling with the slider to the balcony. "Dunno. Something's wrong," the Rookie grunted.

Coming up behind him, Ryo reached over and opened the slider for him. Terriermon stuck his head outside and sniffed, his little button nose twitching. Something smelled strange, like something was burning. No smoke or fire, though! Just a blue, wavy sheen to the morning sky. The sun started to rise in the distance, with the sky surprisingly clear for once. With the slider open, he could hear the racket outside: it wasn't only the crows and the dogs kept outside overnight. He could hear the neighbor's cats mewling and in the building across from their apartment, a small puppy pawed at the glass slider, claws scrabbling as it whined. The air smelled of anticipation, danger and fear from the other animals. It smelled of death.

Something was gonna happen.

And it was gonna happen soon.

Terriermon turned away from the balcony. They needed to get out of the building. Not soon. _Now_. There wasn't time! The Rookie hurried away from the slider and under Ryo's legs, ignoring his confused protests. Outside, lights were starting to flicker on as animals freaking out began to wake up the people in neighboring complexes

Terriermon ran as fast as his little legs could take him. It was times like these he wished he could stay stuck as Gargomon, but he knew Jenrya didn't like it. Ryo caught up to him before he reached Jenrya's room.

"What're you doing?" Ryo asked.

"Gotta get Jenrya and everyone out of the building!" Terriermon huffed. "Gotta do it now!"

Ryo stared at the Digimon but didn't question him – the human was already turning in the hallway and letting himself into the master bedroom. It was incredibly rude, but the genuine urgency in Terriermon's voice told him politeness was the least of his worries. There was a muffled, sleepy question of surprise from Janyuu and then the door shut behind Ryo and cut off whatever he said in reply. Terriermon rushed into Jenrya's room, bursting in through the open door.

"Jenrya!"

Jenrya didn't react. He was busy looking at something on the screen of his computer, headphones in his ears as he stared straight forward in concentration. Terriermon did a dance of impatience at this.

"_Jenrya_!"

"What?" His Tamer finally jerked to attention.

Terriermon was breathless. "Get your stuff. We gotta _go_!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Jenrya swiveled in his chair, half out of his seat. "What's the hurry?"

Terriermon scurried over and began tugging on Jenrya's ankle, as if that would make him burst into action instead of asking all these questions slowing them down. "Bad feeling. Explain later!"

Jenrya paused and then turned toward his computer. "Okay, I'll be right there in a second," he said and turned quickly back to his computer. He was busy transferring something onto a bunch of flash drives sitting on his desk. Terriermon just ogled at this: what was his partner _doing_?

"Jenrya! _Come on_!"

"I'll be right there!" Jenrya reached around, having filled the first one to the max, and disconnected it. "I need to save this. Just give me a few minutes!"

Terriermon continued to do his little dance around Jenrya's feet. They could get it later, couldn't they? His instincts were screaming they didn't have a few minutes to spare. At least Ryo finished on his end: there was activity outside in the apartment hall. Janyuu was coming out from the master bedroom, still dressed in his pajamas and fitting his glasses onto his nose as he hurried over to get Shuichon. Reika was already up, rubbing at her eyes, her hair sticking up in clumps as she peered out in bewilderment.

Ryo came back into Jenrya's room to report his progress. "We're all pretty much ready," he glanced at Jenrya and stopped short. Everyone else was rushing about getting ready to leave and he of all people was messing around with his computer. "What are you doing?"

Jenrya glanced over his shoulder at him. "Saving something."

"You have to do it now?" Ryo sounded incredulous.

Terriermon bounced around the human's feet in panicked circles. "That's what _I_ said!"

Jenrya hunched over and removed the flash drive before plugging a third one in. "It's really important. Tell you guys about when I finish. I just need a minute!"

Ryo opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by a tremor – the floor abruptly shook, enough to send him staggering back a foot. Terriermon froze in place, mouth dropped open in a small gape. Ryo righted himself with one hand on the doorway. None of them imagined that; far too big to just be a big truck passing by. An earthquake? Ryo and Terriermon exchanged looks and came to an agreement without saying anything. Ryo stepped forward. He grabbed Jenrya's left arm as Terriermon took to the air and got hold of Jenrya's right. The Tamer protested:

"I'm not done!"

There was a hint of desperation in his voice. Ryo ignored it.

"Finish it later," he hissed. "Terriermon's right!"

Terriermon tugged on Jenrya's hand, knowing full well Jenrya could easily shake him off, and banking that doing the same to Ryo would be harder. Not only was the boy taller than Jenrya, but he was heavier as well. Ryo was already dragging Jenrya away from the computer although the Tamer tried to resist, still insisting he _needed _to finish. They had made it to the door when there was another tremor, way more powerful than the last. Jenrya was sent stumbling into Ryo. Outside in the hall, Reika exchanged worried looks with Janyuu, who was carrying Shuichon away from the other room.

"We shouldn't stay in the building if it keeps up like this," she said.

"Lets take the fire escape," Janyuu replied, shifting his daughter to another shoulder. The two boys behind him regained their balance as he nodded toward the door. "Come on."

Janyuu led the way as quickly as he could. They made it out into the crowded hall before the third tremor hit. The other residents from their floor were already flooding out. A thundering roar sounded all around them. Suddenly the whole corridor was jumping up and down, rolling like they were on some a gigantic wave. Janyuu clutched his daughter to his chest as everyone braced themselves against the walls or fell to the floor and clung there because it was the only place they could go. Several long terrifying seconds passed before the quake rolled onward. Reika picked herself off the carpet. Noise filled the halls; screams, cried questions, sobs, and curses. Someone got too panicked and suddenly there was violent pushing and shoving surging forward. Terriermon managed to clutch onto Jenrya as Ryo pressed himself against the wall next to the Tamer. The tide of people separated Janyuu, Reika and Shuichon from them.

The three were swept away and vanished from sight as the pandemonium broke out into a full-on stampede for the exits.

"Dad!" Jenrya shouted, trying to peer over the crowd. "_Dad_!"

If there was a reply, it was swallowed up by the sounds of the stampede. Someone triggered the fire alarm and now a piercing wail rang throughout the floor, a bright white light flashing somewhere.

"We'll catch up!" Ryo tried to make himself heard over everything, shouting himself now. He reached out and grabbed the back of Jenrya's shirt with his good hand before the Tamer could go diving into the crowd to go searching for Janyuu. "We need to get out first!"

Jenrya glared at him.

"They'll be fine!" Terriermon added. "They went ahead of us, I swear I saw them!"

That made Jenrya pause and then he deflated and nodded. Terriermon hadn't exactly seen them – how could he? Everyone had been blocking his view – but his main concern was getting his Tamer out of harm's way. And while he hated lying to Jenrya for any reason, he had to do it now. _I hope they really did go ahead_, the Rookie thought as Ryo pushed his way through the crowd with Jenrya close behind him. While Terriermon didn't really like Reika much, he did care what happened to Jenrya's dad and little sister. He didn't want to see anything happen to them. For their sakes as well as Jenrya's.

The chaos from their floor followed them as they neared the fire escape. The crowd began surging too strongly for Ryo to keep choosing their path and they ended up passing entirely the other set of stairs he'd seen earlier, the indoor ones. Part of the mob had already turned toward those, blocking the way for the others who were forced to bypass those stairs in favor for the other set, moving in a tide. The opened door to the outside fire escape splattered windswept drizzle into his face and that strange, burning scent. It was so much stronger this time that he knew that even the humans had to be able to smell it now.

Another tremor hit.

This one was so powerful almost everyone was floored this time, even those against the walls were hard-pressed to keep their footing. The only thing that saved Jenrya from ending up like Ryo – on the floor – was the woman standing behind him. The Tamer fell into her and she pushed him back in reflex, staggering herself. The push sent him back toward the wall and he could only press himself against it and watch in terror as the narrow corridor shook violently. The overhead lights flickered and went out. People were crying, some went silent with fear, others were cursing at those crying to shut up as the thundering howl once again descended on them. It rose to a deafening scream over the fire alarm as the hall bucked and swayed from side to side. The floor heaved in a final motion so powerful that Terriermon felt himself actually go weightless for a second before that quake moved past.

_Now_ Terriermon didn't know if they had enough time to make it down to ground level. The tremors were getting so powerful so fast that he couldn't tell how much time they had left. But one thing was clear…

That hadn't been the biggest shock.

The main one had still yet to come.

Ryo picked himself off the floor and joined them before turning and leading the way toward the fire escape. Terriermon glanced behind them. The others were still getting to their feet, although a good number were already following them. The Rookie quickly searched their faces: none of them were Reika, Jenrya's dad or little sister. A sigh of relief. _Maybe they really did get out before us._

He could only hope so.

A blast of icy, wet air hit the three as they made it out onto the fire escape's landing. Terriermon could only stare, button-eyes wide. The sky above was riddled with circles, like blue lightning had been somehow bent into concentric circles and they were rippling in toward the center from outside, past Shinjuku. It was too far to see where the center was, but Terriermon was sure he already knew where: Odaiba. These weren't normal earthquakes. Whatever had happened there had to be causing all this.

Ryo led the way down the stairs as quickly as he could, the metal clanking under his footsteps. They didn't have a lot of time: already others were piling onto the fire escape after them and there were others below them from the lower floors doing the same. Jenrya hurried after the other boy, hand running along the banister. The fire escape continued to creak dangerously. Strange sounds rattled about them. Terriermon knew with cold clarity that there were _too many people on the stairs._

To make it worse, he suddenly noticed the animals had suddenly gone silent from their left, probably miles away. Above them, in the sky overheard, the largest band of energy was inching its way toward them from the same direction. That high up, the thing had to be huge. It easily out-dwarfed the previous ones. His instincts were screaming that whatever it was – if this was the main quake – it was heading right for them.

Ryo must've had the same thought, seeing as he turned around and grabbed Jenrya's arm and was rushing along the fire escape almost at a full run, pushing past the people in front of him without wasting any breath with apologies. They managed to go down four flights, with at least three more left to go.

There was a terrifyingly long second of silence before the final earthquake hit.

The following upheaval was worse than anything Terriermon ever experienced in the Digital World. Any outcry from the people above and below them was quickly drowned out by the high-pitched shriek of the unnatural quake. The sound passed quickly as the world seemed ready to break apart around them with a roar of its own. Terriermon clung onto Jenrya, claws digging into his partner's shoulder as the whole length of the fire escape convulsed and vibrated. Gaping cracks appeared above them, running out in black spider-webs with a speed that would've been alarming if the Rookie wasn't completely focused on hanging onto his Tamer for dear life.

A sharp jolt.

The metal stairs became a 45 degree angle slant as something came loose.

Terriermon looked up. The overloaded stairs was collapsing. The weight and this earthquake was putting too much of a strain on it. Screams escalated all around them. The top half – the portion of the stairs they left minutes only before – was tearing away from the side of building. Bolts and steel went flying as the air became filled with a horrible metallic shriek. Already the topmost portion swayed free, leaning toward the left, toward the ground. People were still crowded on that section floors above them.

A shadow passed over them and vanished. Another heart stopping jolt and suddenly their platform had several inches between itself and the building's wall. The gap widened as the steel fastening the fire escape to the wall twisted and tore loose. Another screech and they were loose and swaying again for a second just like the landing before them had before it'd plummeted out of sight.

There was so much noise, it was like everything was in a weird kind of mute. Part of the Rookie Digimon was screaming that he should digivolve, do _something_, but he knew he couldn't. Ryo's lips were moving. Whatever he said was completely swallowed up by the sounds of the collapsing fire escape and the earthquake threatening to rip the entire building apart.

They were in full freefall as the section under them gave away with groans of twisting steel. Terriermon felt his small body almost entirely airborne as everyone became weightless. One last jolt. Wind whistled, stealing away the cries of the other people around them. Rain splattered. The ground came rushing up.

Sickening jolts ran shuddering up the torn frame of the fire escape' as it hit the ground and continued to fold like it was made out of cardboard and tissue. Terriermon tried to hang onto Jenrya as the torn section they were on impacted with the pavement and dirt. Next thing he knew, he was pulled loose. A vague sensation of being tossed through the air. More screams from above as the stairs continued to rip itself free, the _whud_ of the collapsed portions hitting the ground, the roar of the earthquake. The terrified thought he wasn't holding onto Jenrya anymore. He didn't know where Jenrya was. The world spun.

Terriermon was thrown clear as the stairs sent up a splash of mud.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was only darkness.

One of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan in centuries struck Tokyo in the early hours of a rainy Saturday morning.

Even the Juggernaut failed to calculate just how powerful the shocks from the barrier making contact with the city's outskirts would be. The damage had been lessened by its preemptive measures but it was still worse than projected: the barrier's effect was like a miniature digital shuffle. Several major fires sprang up, the smaller ones too many to count. The outer districts of Tokyo were completely obliterated and reduced to rubble. It was unknown if there were any survivors within a mile radius of the contact points. It was unknown how many casualties there were. It was unknown where the priority targets were. It was unknown what was happening outside of its home.

It was all unknown because the Juggernaut had been forced offline by the final earthquake.

Thousands of connections, cut. The main power lines as well, which meant the Juggernaut was operating purely on the stored energy from the Golem deletions for now. The background programs – the survival ones – worked furiously to bring everything back. But the sentient part of the supercomputer was down for the time being, the shocks inducing too much damage for it to make an immediate recovery. The sky was left with the same blue tint as before the barrier made the contact. But the Juggernaut couldn't see the sky, or anything else for that matter: all cameras were out. Sight was gone. The only thing left was the automatic defensive measures around the Metropolitan Government Office Building. And there were holes in _that_ since some of the neighboring towers collapsing had completely crushed sections of it.

The Juggernaut was blind.

It was practically defenseless.

Despite the main intelligence core being offline like most of its other systems, the machine knew how vulnerable it was. It was the instinct the Juggernaut programmed into itself as soon as it became self-aware. The survival programs worked frantically to restore power and control. It had to survive. It wouldn't allow itself to be blinded or crippled forever.

Takato Matsuda – unaware of all this – remained in the sleep induced from Jenrya's shutdown.

It was the first time he slept in weeks.

**To be continued**  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	23. Aftermath

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Sorry for the long delay. School was kicking me in the butt and I'm working now, so less free time for stuff such as writing for fun. Anyway, the aftermath of the barrier-contact. Not very actiony. Cameo by Black Growlmon and Kincaid. Yep.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Digital Shuffle

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(Aftermath)

Cold.

There was something cold on his arm.

A touch of moisture on the back of his hand, followed by a brief prick of ice. It dissolved. Another prick. And another, so inconsistent he was sure he wasn't dead. At least, he thought he wasn't. It wasn't like he'd any experience being dead.

Jenrya regained consciousness as he became aware of his surroundings. Knees and arms all hurt. Head pounded. Shoulder felt even worse. For some reason, the ground wasn't hard. It was soft, yielding slightly under his body as he shifted. The sounds he heard before came into sharper clarity now. Sirens wailing in the distance. Someone screaming from somewhere. Crying. Voices behind him. Voices everywhere in all directions.

" - Hey! You! Over here –"

"- I-I can't move my leg- "

" – _Keiko_! _Haru_! –"

"- Help me- "

All this shouting _hurt_. Jenrya wanted to go back to sleep but those voices kept jarring him awake. He was aware of people rushing around him. Someone stepped right over him and whatever he lay on. Footsteps away, crunching through a thin layer of something that couldn't be the pavement by itself. Another touch of cold. Behind closed lids, Jenrya's eyes flickered as he continued to shake off the mist clouding his senses. The fogginess retreated enough that he started to remember where he was. His eyes slowly drifted open.

Jenrya watched in dazed fascination as something white drifted onto his wrist and melted.

It was snowing.

Jenrya could only stare dumbly at it. Actual snow. At this time of year. He had a feeling whatever he was sprawled over wasn't snow…and in a few minutes he was probably going to find out what it was.

Abrupt, jerking pain from his lower legs when someone tripped against him. A startled curse – like something Ryo would've said – and uneven footsteps stumbling away as Jenrya moaned. Suddenly there were people kneeling over him.

"Hey, this one's alive too!"

Hands everywhere, propping him gently, helping him sit up, checking his head for injuries, touching his face. There was so much going on Jenrya had a hard time responding to all the questions. It seemed like millions of people were asking them at the same time, in the same voice, from all sides. Nausea welled up in the Tamer and he barely managed to bite back the rising bile as his vision flickered in and out. He wasn't sure if he'd passed out again or not, but when he opened his eyes again, Jenrya saw only two people kneeling at his side. The chubby woman to his left, a crude bandage on her cheek, held up two fingers.

"How many fingers am I holding up, son?" she asked.

Jenrya blinked, shakily wondering why she looked so familiar. "Two."

"Okay. Now how many?"

The lady waved four fingers slowly from left to right.

"Four," Jenrya paused as she lowered her hand. "…Don't you live across the hall from us?"

The woman looked surprised before recognition dawned on her face. She nodded, giving a rosy smile that seemed very out of place with the snow collecting on her shoulders and in her hair like ash. "Yeah! You're from the Lee's, aren't you?"

The Tamer nodded carefully – nodding too quickly made his head pound all over again. "I'm Jenrya."

"'Jenrya'? That's a different name," the woman watched as Jenrya struggled to recall hers. "It's 'Suma'."

Suma glanced at her companion; the man next to her was her polar opposite. While she was built thick, like a wide tank squeezed into a black t-shirt with a ponytail jutting out, he was built like a stick and balding, dressed in a business suit indicating he'd been about to leave for work before the earthquakes struck. His face was covered in small cuts and bruises visible through his thin beard, none of them large enough to be attended to like Suma's head injury. The businessman busied himself peering at Jenrya with those owlish eyes.

"It doesn't look like he's got a concussion," the man said with the professional finality of someone who had no clue what he was doing. "I'm guessing he had a nasty bump on the head."

"I think we've all had our share of nasty bumps," Suma said wryly. "Jenrya, Jiro Watari, from was two floors under us. I think he's a doctor or something, said something about having a PH.D or whatever, so you'll be okay 'cause he knows his stuff."

Jiro mumbled something about his PH.D not meaning he was a real doctor, but Suma only gave him a sharp jab in the side with her elbow that cut him short.

"Ow!"

"He _knows_ his _stuff_," Suma repeated firmly.

Jiro looked defensive but only gave a nod at Suma's pointed stare.

She turned back to Jenrya, clucking over him as she reached out and ran her fingers along his forehead. Her fingertips came away red with fresh blood.

"Looks like you're gonna get some nice scabs for a few days, Jenrya. But hey, nothing deep enough for stitches, so I guess that's something to be happy about," Suma said. Jenrya made a motion and she nodded. "Go ahead."

Jenrya reached up and, with gentle care, felt around his face, but couldn't help the little hiss of pain when his fingers encountered the scrapes in question. A large circular tender spot on his forehead, half-hidden by his hair. And more patches where it felt wet and warm. The Tamer was bleeding a little, but it looked like whatever had been there before was already wiped off. In fact, he could spy a bloodied rag that looked suspiciously like someone's shirt lying next to Suma's lap. For some reason, his right eye felt a bit strange. Puffy, although it was almost too sore to be sure.

"I don't have a mirror or anything, but you'll have a nice black eye in a few hours."

Jenrya winced at this.

"Don't sweat it," Suma reassured him. "I had one before when I was a kid. They go away in a few days. No biggie."

Not sure if he felt reassured, Jenrya continued checking his injuries, feeling gently around the eye. It was tender there and he could definitely feel where it'd been bruised. Strange. He didn't remember hitting his face. But then again, he didn't remember the details of actually hitting the ground either.

Suma raised an eyebrow at his lifted elbow.

"There too."

Jenrya looked. She was right. One long ugly scrape the size of a tennis ball decorated his right elbow. It stung in the air like his head and his knees. Suma made a motion to inspect his left elbow more closely, taking his arm and starting to lift it up. She flinched when Jenrya suddenly cried out as pain shot down from his shoulder in a fiery lance.

"I'm sorry!" Suma quickly drew back. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Jenrya could only nod, swallowing, his eyes watering.

"Sorry. We'll get some water or something to clean all that up, see if anyone here can tell what's wrong with your arm," Suma shrugged apologetically. She got to her feet, brushing the knees of her pajamas off. Snow came off in a fine white powder. "You think you can stand up?"

"Yeah," Jenrya got his feet under him and managed to get halfway up before he started to teeter. His neighbor reached out and steadied him. "Thanks."

"Welcome. Any idea if your family was with you?"

"They were until we got out into the hall on our floor."

"What about after?"

Jenrya shook his head before he remembered that was a bad idea. He winced as his head thudded. "I-I don't know. I mean, my dad and my sister went on ahead before we made it onto that fire escape."

"Well, we've been rounding up everyone for the past couple of hours, so maybe someone's seen them. I'll go ask. Take a seat again. I'll be right back."

Suma had a quick exchange with Jiro: their eyes kept traveling uneasily over Jenrya's shoulder, to the thing he'd been lying on minutes before. Speaking to Jiro in tones too low for Jenrya to hear, they came to some sort of agreement. Suma turned to go. Jiro stationed himself a few feet away from the Tamer, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he sat down on the piece of debris jutting out in a crescent from the ground. He was planted squarely between the unidentifiable shape and the young boy.

By now, everything started coming back. The earthquakes, stampeding people, the terrible screeching sound of the fire escape tearing away from the wall. A weight suddenly vanishing off his shoulders as they plummeted toward the ground waiting for them. Jenrya sat bolt upright, scaring Jiro. _Terriermon!_ He glanced about frantically, heart rising in his throat. His partner was nowhere in sight. Neither was Ryo; despite what happened last night, he would've given anything to see either of them here, even Ryo.

Sitting in the snow with Jiro, he was all too aware of how alone he was. If anything, he wanted to at least look around and see if he could find the others. Jenrya found himself staggering to his feet again.

"Suma, wait!" he called after his neighbor. "I want to come with you!"

Suma turned as he caught up to her: she looked concerned, her eyebrows drawing together. She could tell him to go back and sit down but for all she knew, he could get up and explore on his own as soon as Jiro turned his back on the kid. Probably better to humor him. That way at least an adult could keep an eye on him.

Jenrya followed Suma as they picked their way through the wreckage, gray eyes wide. The fire escape had pretty much torn completely free of the apartment building from the fall. It was still attached to the first floor, but above that, it bent over their heads in a lopsided arc, resembling the beached black skeleton of a whale. The stairs nearest the roof had completely hit the ground and was now a twisted hulk of metal people were either sitting on or leaning against.

He couldn't help but be surprised at the number of people milling about the street. Dozens sat in clusters, bandaging each other up, talking to one another or standing off to the side with blankets around their shoulders. Others lay on the ground, unmoving. The fact everyone else gave the motionless bodies a wide berth made him uneasy and Jenrya hurried after Suma, averting his eyes without knowing why. They took the long way around since Suma refused to go near the bodies, looking at them with the same aversion as she had at that snow-covered thing they found Jenrya on.

Eventually the two made it back to the apartment building's base.

"Yasuo, I found another one!" Suma announced.

One of the men inspecting the remnants of the fire escape turned. Yasuo, like Jiro, wore a business suit. His was far more rumpled, shirt half-tucked, belt ends loose and swinging. One side of his face had a five o'clock shadow, as if he'd been interrupted in the middle of shaving. One of his glasses bore the brunt of hitting something, scratches stretching along the right lens so heavily he adopted a bad habit of closing that eye in a slow winking motion like he was squinting. In any other circumstance, it would've been funny. But Yasuo moved with authority, and it was clear this man was the one unofficially in charge.

"That's great," Yasuo knelt down so that he was eye-level with Jenrya. "What's your name?"

"Jenrya Lee," Jenrya answered. He gestured vaguely up toward the building with his good arm. The other still hung loose at his side, sending up twinges of pain when they'd been walking. "We were on the top floor."

"I was wondering if you've seen his dad or his sister," Suma added.

Yasuo's and Suma's eyes on him, Jenrya quickly described both Janyuu and Shuichon, and then went on to describe Ryo and Reika. He'd have to look for Terriermon himself as soon as he could pull away from the adults.

Yasuo listened to the descriptions carefully. "We might've. I'll tell the others: I've had so many people coming and going I can't keep track of them all by myself. I know we've been gathering up the others and we've had some people from across the street come by. I'll see what I can do. But with the snow, we need to focus on getting everyone into some kind of shelter in case it gets worse. You said you lived on the top floor, right?"

Jenrya nodded.

"Some volunteers are checking out the building. From what I heard, the top floors sustained the most damage. But we've been getting blankets and jackets and things from the lower floors, so if you need anything, we've probably got it," Yasuo said. "How're the injuries?"

Suma pointed out the problematic shoulder as Yasuo tilted his head, one eye still winking through the scratched lens of his glasses. Jenrya politely tried to look like he wasn't staring at man during all of this, instead focusing on the other eye and trying to ignore the winking-one, distracting as it was.

"Maybe someone else knows what's wrong," Yasuo said when Suma finished. "I'm no doctor. There's the hospital and that's a few miles away. I wouldn't suggest walking that while it's still snowing. We've been lucky the majority of it's melted away so far but if it keeps up like this, it might be a problem."

Suma glanced at Jenrya then back at Yasuo. "About that. We need to talk."

Jenrya sat down as the adults spoke over his head. Suma pulled Yasuo to the side, almost entirely out of hearing range; honestly, he was worried more about his friends and family than whatever they were talking about. Jenrya bit his lip. Where was Terriermon? A part of him was so sure he'd have seen a glimpse of pale green and flapping, oversized ears by now. _Dad and Shuichon probably're around here_, Jenrya decided. That meant Ms. Ootori was too since they'd been together when he'd last seen them. So where were Terriermon and Ryo then? Frankly, it terrified Jenrya he'd no idea where his own partner was. The only thing keeping him from bolting away to go search was his shoulder.

It hurt. It hurt a _lot_. Kind of mushy on one side with a heaping dose of general pain everywhere else whenever he tried to move it. Jenrya had never broken any bones before, so he couldn't tell if it was broken or fractured or whatever. He seriously hoped not. But he found himself leaning over with his good hand, scooping up some melting snow and trying to pack it around the injured shoulder. It didn't make sense for it to snow at this time of year, but now wasn't the time to complain. At least the snow helped a little to numb the shoulder so it didn't make him sick or his eyes start watering whenever he even so much as moved.

But, looking around the street, Jenrya saw he was one of the lucky ones.

The closest crowd of people was only a few yards away to his left. Most leaned against the wall or curled in a nest of blankets salvaged from the apartment building. Many had bandages wrapped around their heads or other body parts, bloody splotches peeping through in places. Some tried to get some sleep, nestled among complete strangers for warmth underneath a carpet of mismatching comforters, sheets and towels. A teenage girl wearing little more than an oversized shirt hissed as someone else clumsily wrapped a torn sheet around her arm, as if his knowledge of splints only came from watching TV. The arm was bent at an unnatural angle, obviously broken. One of the adults with the blankets did nothing more than stare straight ahead and give a strange little rocking shudder every now and then.

Jenrya looked away quickly.

He instead looked up to check the sky and found it wasn't that strange shade of blue anymore. Greasy black fumes curled in the air, the charcoal scent of fire riding the breeze as the first sprinkles of gray ash began to drift down and mingle with the snow. Something was up in flames somewhere. It must be pretty far considering that they were getting the ash and smoke right now.

_What'd Suma say?_ Jenrya tried to remember. _It's been a couple of hours since the whole thing?_ So the fire – wherever it was – hadn't been put out. He hoped it didn't spread over here. Somehow he doubted they could put it out if it did.

But above all, he hoped his family and friends were okay.

Because, right now, sitting on a piece of rubble in the snow as strangers milled about, he was all too alone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Another war. More mind-games. Great. Shoving Monodramon at him didn't change the fact that Ryo Akiyama was going sick of the front-lines. _

_Ryo blinked and time jumped and jittered. For a long second he was looking on himself, watching Other Him walking with Monodramon chattering away for the both of them. All he was aware of was his fingers digging into the palms of his hands, like if he just clenched his fists hard enough, it would make everything that much more real instead of happening to someone else. He glanced at Monodramon, seeing him from a distance._

_The little Rookie listened to something, nodding and replying with the attentiveness of a born caretaker. Ryo couldn't hear the words he was replying to. The words themselves were missing. So was the speaker. There should've been _something_ there, floating above the pedestal in the center of the white chamber. At least, that's what Ryo's gut feeling told him. But now there was only a blank spot. Like something had been cut out and there'd been nothing to replace it with. Gone._

_Memories like this he should've remembered all of it. But sometimes he thought it was like they weren't his, like if they took away his own free-will and shoved him into their wars, then hey, they could take whatever else he had left too - _

"Hey."

Ryo looked up. The twenty year-old woman leading the way stared back at him, looking half-afraid he might need to get sick again. With a start, he realized he'd been seeing things again…and this time there hadn't been any sudden transition like last time. It snuck up while he'd been following the babysitter the adult stuck him with. Now the college young student was coming back, Tadako looking worried her charge would keel over on her since he stopped following.

Ryo frowned as she came up to him.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Ryo protested.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, Tadako. Zoned out a bit… - I'm _fine_."

Tadako ignored his protest, bending over the boy and checking the strip of gauze wound about his forehead. Ryo rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time he'd practically landed on his head and if he survived the first time, he was gonna survive the second time whether he understood it or not. But because of the fact he got himself a nice big hole in his head, they made sure it was impossible for him to go off on his own and look for the others. Instead Ryo had to tag along with some college student thought it was an awesome idea to take a minor with her in an unstable building. Tadako insisted on sneaking in to see how her second-floor apartment held up.

He promised not to rat her out if she didn't rat him out – her place first, then the Lee's apartment. It didn't stop her from making Ryo stop and put his head between his knees the second she thought he wasn't looking so hot. Between the babying and the obviously unstable building, he wasn't exactly having the time of his life here.

_No pressure_, Ryo thought sarcastically. _Here's hoping the building doesn't collapse._

Every now and then the floor would tremble, giving off a series of quiet, groaning creaks that would always subside as soon as they started. Tadako assured him it was safe(ish). Besides, they'd be out in a few seconds anyway, she added. So it wasn't like they were gonna be missed enough to get in trouble. Ryo didn't really see how that had anything to do with joint's stability. Tadako only shrugged.

A few emergency lights flickered faintly here and there, dotting the dim hallways enough that they could step over any rubble without tripping too often. And there _was_ a good amount of rubble, from where sections of the roof collapsed in on itself. Despite the damages, the wide cracks riddling the walls and ceiling and the creaking, a good amount of the top floor remained intact.

Ryo followed Tadako's orange parka. Apparently the college student only lived a few doors down the hall from the Lees - Ryo never remembered seeing her before in the short time he'd been staying with Jenrya. Remembering the faces of strangers had never been one of his strong points anyway.

That and apologies.

Ryo didn't even know why he kept backtracking to that stupid fight with Jenrya last night. Usually he would shrug and keep going without giving it a second thought. Fights happened. These days he wasn't so good with people, considering how long he'd been away from human contact before all of this. So when he did butt heads with others – which was a lot since coming back – Ryo normally shrugged it off. But this time it kept bugging him like the whole thing with Tamayo did. It hovered on the fringes, gnawed at him, made him wonder why he even said what he all that.

"Okay, in and out," Tadako said. She glanced at her charge, "Don't go too far, okay?"

"Sure."

Ryo continued on his way to the end of the hall, moving slowly. Some of the damage took out some of the emergency lights here, leaving this section of the corridor almost entirely cast in darkness as the lights flickered sporadically behind him. Ryo felt about, checking for anything he could catch his foot on, running his hands along the walls. Eventually some light filtered in, peeping out through what had to be the doorway toward the Lee's apartment. Ryo approached it cautiously.

The doorframe was bent in on itself, buckled so far down that he needed to hunch over and half-crawl to get through the narrow space between floor and the top of the warped doorway. Once through, he stood up and glanced about. Like the rest of the building, large cracks ran crisscrossing all over the walls and ceilings. A cool breeze sighed through the blinds covering broken windows; the ends of the blinds kept clacking emptily against the window frames, their surfaces rippling like ghosts. All of the cabinet doors in the kitchen hung open, the refrigerator leaning dangerously forward, held only in place by the taut cord still attached to the wall. Debris, ranging from frozen peas to leftovers, shards of glass and shattered eggs shells were everywhere.

A few wisps of snow danced about the living room before eventually settling on the TV. For some reason, it was on, buzzing with strings of static in the silence. Ryo went and turned it off without thinking_._ The balcony outside was missing and peering out through the remnants of the sliders, he could see what looked like it smashed all over the street below in a spray of metal and wood. The building gave a gentle groan again, reminding him that he wasn't here to stop and stare.

_We're probably gonna be stuck outside_. With the snow they needed more than the clothing on their backs. Since he was up here, he might as well salvage as much as he could carry.

Ryo entered Jenrya's room to find it had a large hole now, a mound of snow and rubble on top of something that looked suspiciously like Jenrya's computer.. _Jenrya's gonna _love_ that._ Ryo didn't waste time as he went searching for the backpack and duffle bag. They were still where Jenrya left them. Shouldering the backpack, Ryo bent next to the ruins of the desk to pick up the duffle bag.

Several objects lay a few feet away from the duffle bag, glinting in the sunlight. Reaching out, he picked one up, turning it over in his fingers this way and that after shaking off a light film of snow. _One of those flash drives Jenrya was using_, he realized. What were these doing here? Didn't he take them? Now that he thought about it, Ryo didn't remember if he did or not. After all, he and Terriermon basically dragged the other boy away before he finished fooling around with them. He thought Jenrya was painfully naïve, not stupid – there had to be a reason he was willing to risk getting whatever it was on those flash drives. Ryo picked up the rest and pocketed them. He headed back into the kitchen after stealing some dry blankets from Janyuu's room and shouldering them.

Food was the next problem.

There was probably food around from the surrounding buildings, but Ryo wasn't one to put his trust in the generosity of others. People were greedy, people were selfish. _They_ usually couldn't be trusted, especially not in a situation like this. You could trust strangers only so far if you wanted to survive. After that you were on your own. He hadn't lasted as long as he did in the Digital World without picking up a few hard-learned lessons he couldn't shake off, even now.

Ryo bent down to look and see whatever food was left in the kitchen. Most of it was junk. With the power out, most of it would spoil within days, if not hours. He selected what would last a few days, wiping off drying egg yolk with his fingers. He did the same with the cabinets and drawers, rooting through them. Same went with the drinks. At least the Lees had some bottled water. Rooting through the cabinets, Ryo found a stash of Ace bandages and band-aids. Going back toward the front door, he paused. Oh yeah, shoes. Easy to forget the shoes.

_Wish I had a second pair of hands for this_, Ryo grumbled. Going grocery shopping like this was a struggle when he could only put so much weight on his bad hand. The rate things were going, it probably wouldn't heal properly. Ryo sucked in a pained breath, letting out a low hiss as the duffle bag strap caught gently on one of his broken fingers. Jarring pain. Biting down on his lip angrily and trying to will away the involuntary tears brimming on the edge of his vision, he transferred the duffle bag to his good arm. Even if he could survive landing on his head – not once, but twice – a bum hand still got to him.

Getting his stash under the door was tricky. Somehow he squeezed through. Making his way back into the corridor where Tadako and he separated, he found the college student waiting for him, taping her bare foot, holding a small cage under her arm. She stared, raising an eyebrow at Ryo as he approached her with his load.

"I'm assuming those are yours?" she asked.

"I was staying as a guest back there with a…a friend. We're going to need this stuff anyway if we can't go back here."

She continued to eye him like she was debating whether or not he counted as a thief. Personally, Ryo didn't care. He'd have done the same even if he hadn't been crashing here anyway. It wasn't like he hadn't had to help himself to abandoned supplies before and it was easy to stop feeling guilty it the more you were forced to do it.

Tadako frowned for a second longer before perking up. "Okay, I'm gonna go out on a limb and trust you on this."

"…What's that?" Ryo said, noticing the cage in her hand for the first time.

"What? This?" Tadako held up the cage for Ryo to see. Leaning forward, he could see a small rodent the size of his palm cowering in a pink plastic den. The pet's beady black eyes rolled wildly, its fat furry sides fluttering in and out. "It's Chanchan."

"You came back for a _gerbil_?"

Tadako looked annoyed. "Hamster."

"What?"

"Chanchan's a hamster," Tadako said.

"It looks like a gerbil to me."

"Gerbils have tails, Ryo. Hamsters don't."

Ryo had no idea why they were even arguing about gerbils – _hamsters_ – right now.

"When the earthquakes started, I put him some place safe, but…" she said. "I was really worried about poor Chanchan, so I had to come get him."

Ryo didn't even want to ask how she was planning to take care of it now. It still made his mind boggle to see this girl risking not only her life – but his – for a fat little hamster that might die later because she hadn't the resources to look after it. If Ryo had been the one with the cage, well…he would've left the cage and not looked back.

But then again, Tadako wasn't him. What she chose to do – stupid or not – wasn't his business.

Reaching into her pocket and pulling a raisin out, Tadako slipped it in between the cage bars. Ryo watched as Chanchan summoned enough courage to waddle out from his hiding place to snap up the raisin in his tiny paws and greedily stuffed it in his mouth. Cheeks bulging out on one side, he hurried back to hide. Ryo glanced up at Tadako to see she had a little smile on her face, her expression one of relief.

Ryo knew he should understand it, know why she was smiling and he wasn't.

But he couldn't. Ryo couldn't get at all why she risked both their lives for a little hamster named Chanchan.

It was times like this he didn't feel human anymore.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x

Vajramon wasn't pleased with her.

How was _she_ supposed to know the Shield's barrier would be that powerful?

An irate expression on her face, Kincaid stalked away from conference room the Founder used as his sleeping quarters. Ever since that ridiculous show of hysterics from Yamaki a few days earlier, Vajramon found himself confined to one floor in the building. Since then, he literally remodeled the entire floor, blowing out walls so he could move more freely…it only helped so far when the Ultimate still had to keep ducking and hunching his shoulders, too tall for rooms built to human proportions. It was easy to seal up entrances into his new home, but because he couldn't revert back to a human form, he was essentially stranded on that one floor.

Because of that, Vajramon fell more and more into one of his sour moods, muttering about the incompetence of Digimon they had here in the Real World, mumbling he was the only one who could still do his job correctly around here. Kincaid pretended to be deaf to his complaints. He was the one missing the finger after all.

Still. They were equals here. She didn't need to be chided by _him_ of all Digimon like she was still only a Rookie, an In-Training! So there was a mistake. So what? Mistakes happened. It meant the schedule would be delayed a few days, at least until they managed to get the Juggernaut functioning again so they could proceed.

Kincaid always prided herself on her decisions. But even _she_ was starting to wonder if maybe they removed Yamaki a bit…prematurely. They would've had to deal with his little drama show regardless, but Hypnos trusted him. Not her. She was too new, not "The Boss". It was bad enough the humans were starting to whisper in disgruntlement about her. Shame they hadn't manipulated Yamaki with a lighter, more delicate touch. He would've been very useful right now because he was one of those rare humans who only improved at his job when things took a turn for the worse.

But that was all in the past.

The sheer amount of drama involved in managing Hypnos gave her a headache. It only convinced her further that humans were useless creatures who loved embroiling themselves in drivel and politics like a flea-ridden circus. This was Nagamora's line of work, not hers. Now she stood next to Vajramon to report their progress, a flickering screen in front of them. Another face was on the other side, barely visible due to the connection between the Real World and Digital World being poor at best.

"I see," said the voice on the other side, female and clipped. "At any rate, the setbacks are found to be acceptable."

"How go the recruitment drives for the breach force, Pajiramon?" Vajramon asked.

The Digimon at the other end of the line swam back into a view as her connection temporarily stabilized– she looked almost like Vajramon's relative, with a ram's body instead of an ox's, an ornate crossbow over her shoulder instead of twin swords at her sides. "As well as can be expected. You will have more than enough soldiers once you open the way for those who follow. The promise of a new world free of the virus becomes more attractive to Digimon each passing second."

"I'll bet," Kincaid muttered.

Pajiramon's red eyes slid over to her. "Why are you still wearing that shape, Deceiver? It's demeaning."

"Because I like to look this way for you, darling," Kincaid said with a wink and a twist of her hip. "I know how your tastes are."

The Sheep Deva tossed her head, her fur ruffled in all the right places like Kincaid intended. Vajramon made a sound in the back of his throat that could've been mistaken for amusement, the first like it he made since being stuck in the building by Yamaki. He had his arms crossed over his chest. Whatever relationship he may have had with Pajiramon, he left it in the past and was now purely professional.

"We could use additional Digimon here. We've run into more 'Chosen Children' and I believe they will put up a fight like the last batch."

"Very well. Expect reinforcements when we are able," Pajiramon said. "As you know, Login Mountain was compromised for months. We lost it last week to that virus, forcing us to move our base of operations. There are now rumors that some of the Royal Knights might get involved if this continues."

Kincaid sucked in a hiss between her teeth. "The Order is a joke. It's been a joke for years. I'd like to see them pretend like they care about our world."

Pajiramon didn't argue that point. By the way she dipped her horns at Kincaid, she might even agree…even if she would word it differently herself.

"I'm concerned about activity from the Archives," Pajiramon's face vanished as she transmitted a report, the DigiCode glowing faintly and scrolling on the screen. "They delay and resist giving the Council full access to their resources. At the moment I can't tell if it's the usual inefficiency or an ulterior motive."

"Maybe it's Her," Vajramon seemed almost reluctant to name the Head Archivist. Considering her tarnished background, Kincaid didn't blame him.

"It very well may be. Giving former traitors any second chances was not something that received a vote from _me_."

Ooh, that was downright _snippy_ for Pajiramon. Kincaid almost thought she had a personality at the rate she was going! She hated to say it, but their colleague had a point. The eight Digimon that served humans were considered reformed, but still, it seemed too early to integrate them properly into society, much less putting them in positions where they could run into humans all over again. That didn't mean Kincaid thought they should be trapped in the Rookie stage, though. She, unlike Pajiramon, had voted favorably because she thought they'd been punished enough. Vajramon too. Maybe that had been the cause of the gradual distancing between them. They could both agree on what constituted overkill. Pajiramon didn't appear to understand there was such a thing.

Vajramon nodded. "Zudomon and Garurumon continue to work for our ends."

"Excellent. It was unfortunate Greymon couldn't follow their examples." Pajiramon couldn't resist a last dig even as her snout tilted to the side. Her screen warbled. The Sheep Deva's voice became distorted. "We will continue this another time. I look forward to the day I can fight by your sides in the Real World. Farewell."

Her connection fizzled into static. Kincaid turned to Vajramon.

"Ever so charming."

The Founder shrugged. "She is who she is." Vajramon stretched his legs with a clack of hooves, turning to read the other reports from the Digital World. "But she is right to have reservations about Garurumon and Zudomon."

"Yeah, yeah," Kincaid grunted.

The thing was, she was starting to wonder if maybe Zudomon hadn't been entirely forthright with her when he presented her the calculations for the barrier-damage. Because if she remembered correctly, he seemed extremely insistent that the damage would be "controlled", that it wouldn't be any worse than in the Digital World. He'd come off awfully tense during that last report too, asking all those questions about the human brats who intruded a few days earlier. Yet another nuisance she was going to have to deal with.

Fun.

Loads and loads of sheer, unadulterated fun. Right there with trying to take care of Hypnos.

Kincaid had unsealed the doors to the building a few hours ago after someone finally got the balls to inform her all the exits had been jammed overnight. She didn't doubt for a second that it'd been the Juggernaut's doing, especially since all the hinges and locks were overridden with little metal filaments woven into a strong mesh, which she was quite sure hadn't been there before. The Juggernaut had done a fine job of reinforcing the building: everyone had to have heard the noise outside, but there had been little more than a single tremor to signal the actual contact made by the Shield's barrier.

It'd been interesting to see the reactions of the humans when they got a good look outside. Jaws dropped, eyes went wide in such comical expressions that Kincaid remembered in the nick of time not to laugh in their faces.

Funny, sure. Appropriate…probably not.

Fires dotted Tokyo everywhere with a string of lights in glowing red wreaths: because they were in quite literally the tallest building left standing in Shinjuku, everyone got a rather magnificent view of the destruction. Even better was the ring of debris surrounding Hypnos in a giant ring, mountains and mountains of snow-tipped rubble rising up in mounds left behind when the neighboring skyscrapers collapsed. The sky itself was now stained black above Hypnos, as if a volcano had belched forth its contents right in the middle of Shinjuku. Glancing around, she could see similar clouds – thousands of feet up, miles across already and still growing – all around Shinjuku and the surrounding sectors. The sun, struggling to peep through the thick smoke, cast everything in an amber haze.

Kincaid had to admit it was extremely hard not to smirk. After all, it was hilarious to see the humans scurrying left and right in mindless panic at the sight of smoke oozing into the air.

The only problem was many of them decided to scurry in the _wrong direction_. Before she knew it, a good deal of the employees had already stampeded to all four corners of the wind. It hadn't made it easier when one of them had approached, saying something about Hypnos helping its employees, blah blah blah, something about being in gratitude before scampering off herself. Kincaid hadn't really bothered to listen. For a brief second, she'd been completely at a loss of what she should do: her first instinct was to go round up the humans and drive them back inside by force.

She'd have to continue to keep up this charade. Setbacks or not.

Kincaid scowled as she trooped down the emergency stairs. It'd been fun at first. She'd liked _her_ job. But she loathed Vajramon's. It wasn't fun. It was downright annoying and half of her was tempted to let Kaminmon, Garurumon and the small horde of Digimon already here in Tokyo go wild. Kaminmon kept pressing her to let him have his fun. _Only a few hours_, he begged. One hour, even! Let him hunt down a few humans. A few hours would be nothing in the grand scheme. Each time she turned him down. But, she promised, he _would_ get a special chance after mission was finished; as a reward for waiting, he could select any humans he wanted for his own personal use.

At least Kaminmon had enough sense to know who his superiors were.

Garurumon actually made her servant look meek and submissive. The Wolf kept throwing betrayed looks and threatening growls at her, looks that said he wanted to start killing _now_, looks that said he wasn't going to wait much longer even if she _was_ his better. Looks that made it clear he was too independent for his own good. She suspected Garurumon would even dare to attack her if left unchecked for too long. The rehabilitation perhaps worked too well for him. The only thing preventing the Wolf from running around on his own little rampage was the fact that she'd sent him to Odaiba.

It was high time for a reunion between ex-traitors anyway.

She supposed that Zudomon would be able to keep Garurumon in line better than she could, what with them being old friends and all. Kincaid couldn't be babysitting him if she had to keep dealing with the humans. How he ever got to consorting with these little rats was beyond her. There were the rare times where she thought she understood why Pajiramon looked down her snout in suspicion at the traitor Digimon. Digimon like Garurumon were almost untouchable these days. He was practically a hero in the Digital World because he fought against a human's contaminating influence and _won_.

Even the Sovereigns seemed to favor him: they actually allowed Garurumon to have audience with them fairly often, which was annoying since Kincaid herself had only seen the Holy Beasts a few times, never mind all of them together at once. The younger Digimon these days were lucky to even get a glimpse of fiery wings dipping in the horizon, a flutter of blue scales and chains above the clouds, lucky to even so much as hear the Sovereigns' comings and goings in the tallest mountains or deepest forests. Even the Council members' meetings with the Sovereigns were very limited. If what she heard was correct, only one of them even bothered to respond to the Council's formal request for advice last time. Yet Garurumon - despite being a former traitor, despite being _weaker_ - could request an audience whenever he wanted. It didn't matter which Sovereign, which direction of the wind he chose. He would get his request granted regardless of when or where. Garurumon could be gone days at a time enjoying the company of the Sovereign Holy Beasts.

Rather irritating the Sovereign Ones played favorites like that.

But that was life. You had to do things you didn't like once in a while. Keeping this in mind, Kincaid went and began doing her best to calm all of the humans down and get them to return back to their posts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx

"You're sure Ruki's okay?"

"Mom, Ruki's fine. She said so herself."

"Well, yes, but I worry about her, you know…"

"Look, I do too. But she's a big girl. She's fine."

A brief pause.

"…You're _sure_ she's okay?"

"Yes, Mom. Perfectly sure."

Ruki wished her grandmother and Mom wouldn't talk over her head like that. _I mean, if they're going to talk about me, the least they could do is do it where I can't hear them, _she thought irritably. Despite her insistence she needed a nap, Ruki hadn't gotten more than maybe an hour of sleep. Maybe two at best, which had been interrupted by the soft conversation over her. Ruki lay next to Renamon, content for the moment to simply listen to her family's voices above. Alice had to be somewhere around here, although she wasn't talking. It was surprisingly quiet. With her eyes closed, it was hard to believe only hours ago the very earth itself seemed ready to tear apart and consume Tokyo.

After Rumiko called the Lees, most of the night was spent packing for the evacuation. Rumiko once again took charge with such authority even Ruki found herself staring in surprise at the model. Her mom glanced at the house without any remorse. It was a shame they needed abandon hit, she said, but they could always replace whatever didn't make it

It was well past midnight when they piled as much of the suitcases, boxes, and bags as they could out in front of the house. They crowded onto the driveway. Alice and Dobermon were already waiting outside as Ruki joined them; her grandmother and Rumiko went back inside to finish locking up, leaving Alice, Dobermon and Ruki alone. Alice looked up, cutting off her quiet conversation with her Digimon to face the other girl walking toward them.

"Guess we're done," Ruki said.

Alice glanced back to the house. "You're not going to miss leaving your home?"

Ruki shrugged. It was a house, like her school was a school. Although…now that she thought about it, that she might never see this place again, Ruki found herself seeing more and more little details about it that she never noticed before. Ruki looked away before she could actually become wistful over the house.

But because Alice got her thinking, she had to admit the memories of this house weren't bad. Ruki could truthfully say she enjoyed the quiet after. Spending the evenings lying on her futon with a book, the single lamp shining from above as a solitary car every now and then rumbled past the walls had been pleasant too. As had sitting in the garden on the weekend and taking naps. In fact, maybe Ruki _was_ going to miss this place after all.

" – What about tomorrow?" Alice was still talking.

"What about it?"

"There are two choices before us," Alice said. Next to her, Dobermon sat down on his massive haunches, ears flopping slightly in the breeze as his eyes went from one human to the other. "We go back to Odaiba or we stay here."

"What do you mean?"

"We have two known hotspots," Alice gestured over her shoulder toward the twin towers in the distance, still visible over the walls. The red lights tipping their roofs continued to wink like stars. "Odaiba and here in Shinjuku. Digimon activity has always been particularly high in these places, although it was mostly Odaiba until recently. What we've seen in the past few days isn't normal behavior."

Ruki stared. "We don't know anything about what happened here. Or at Odaiba," she said. "It'd be like jumping into a game before you have an idea of the enemy's deck. It's stupid."

"Even so, we have less time than before," Alice replied softly. A pause before she elaborated: "…There's been a delay in the Rewodë project."

"What?"

Alice met Ruki's eyes. "I contacted my grandfather a few hours ago. They found a bug in the D-Reaper's programming, something foreign. It wasn't there yesterday. That's why I thought we had more time to spare the other day."

Ruki glanced at Dobermon. The Digimon merely returned the stare, giving his gruff version of a shrug. Like Ruki, he hadn't known of this change until recently, but he hardly seemed concerned, sharing the same expression as Alice. How was it these two could remain so calm? The safeguard everyone relied on – this D-Reaper – was the only thing they could count on in the end. The only ones who knew any of the real details about this were Alice and Dobermon and _they_ were closed mouthed about it, only volunteering answers when asked. Even then, it was like pulling teeth.

"Fine, so how long they think they're gonna be delayed?" Ruki wasn't happy.

"Two weeks at worst," Alice laid her hand on Dobermon's flank, looking at her companion. "I'm not sure if it would be…wise to outright attack the harbor in Odaiba or Metropolitan Building here. But it would best to assume we're going to lose over a week regardless."

Ruki crossed her arms over her chest. "So what exactly do _you_ think we should do?" she asked dryly. "Since you're the messenger with all the connections, what's your opinion?"

Alice blinked at this. "You're asking for _my_ thoughts?"

"Well, yeah. Who else would I be asking?"

Alice exchanged looks with Dobermon. She hadn't expected anyone to ask how she actually felt about any of this. Dobermon met his partner's eyes and dipped his snout in what could only be an encouraging nod.

"I believe we need to decide which is the greatest threat. Splitting up again won't work if we do anything other than investigations," Alice spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "We know there's some kind of defensive perimeter near the Metropolitan Building and the Ultimate in the harbor. But we –"

Ruki suddenly interrupted her. "I'm not asking what 'we' think. I'm asking about you. Not us."

Dobermon gave a warning growl at this, not liking the tone the other girl took toward his charge. Alice's eyes narrowed for a second, but the blonde simply continued on as if she hadn't been cut off.

"We – _I_," Alice corrected herself, "would perhaps try a less upfront method to attacking one or the other. Especially considering that I don't know how strong the defenses are around the Metropolitan Building. There is the option of testing these defenses, but there is a large chance that we – _I_ – would be overpowered. The same applies to Odaiba. Dobermon and I could perhaps knock Zudomon out of commission for a few minutes with our Tümmler generator, but that will not buy enough time to find out how to deal with the energy fluctuation from the harbor or destroy the source completely."

Ruki didn't interrupt her again. Alice went on.

"I know enough to assume that the Digital World-based 'Council' is responsible for the appearance of Zudomon in Odaiba. And the presence of the defenses in Shinjuku, around Hypnos's headquarters, is probably because of them as well. I would think it best to ask those most familiar with Hypnos to look into what's been incoming and outgoing through the networks since it looks like that's the Real World's base of communications for them. The Council so far – as from what I can tell from grandfather's and the others' surveillance – operates very much like we do. They'd have to have reports or something similar with which they keep in contact with one another."

"I would need to find one of these reports with enough details that I can decide which is the weakest of the two hotspots. And then I would strike there. Cripple it long enough that they're distracted and put them on the defensive. Then take out the other. That would buy enough to determine which is the largest threat."

Ruki thought about this. Alice's plan sounded surprisingly like another's and she wondered briefly if maybe they were psychic or something. Stupid, but the two had hauntingly similar ideas despite the fact they'd never exchanged words. _That Otori woman, the one from Hypnos. She mentioned something about the Metropolitan Building too, didn't she?_ Ruki found herself toying with the idea of making an attack on that place, forgetting about Odaiba for the moment. They couldn't stand a chance in Shinjuku unless Alice and Dobermon went since they'd use that EMP generator of theirs. And then their side would probably be floored too.

By then, the others finished with their preparations. Renamon, shimmering, reappeared behind Ruki as Rumiko strode back into view, making her mom start in surprise.

"I'm never going to get used to you doing _that_," Rumiko said, shaken at having a giant fox appear out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry," Renamon apologized. Her tone bordered on amused. "I'll be more careful next time not to do _that_."

Rumiko looked like she was unsure if she was joking or not. Ruki watched as her mom turned toward the pile, her lips moving silently as she ran over a mental checklist on perfectly manicured fingers.

"Okay, so we're all set?" she asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Good…good, so here's the deal," Rumiko said. "We'll move everything into this safe place tonight. If we don't have enough food, I'll run over and see if anything's still open. The Lees should be coming in around noon tomorrow, so we should probably get some sleep as soon as we're settled," Rumiko paused. She bit her lip, thinking. "Do you think you kids will be okay if we have to leave tomorrow for a bit?"

"What for?" Ruki asked.

Rumiko didn't look too happy. "Mr. Lee and I tried calling the Matsudas earlier and they hung up on both of us. I think they disconnected their phone. We're going to have to go in person and straighten everything out. It might take a while if they're going to be stubborn about it."

"Oh."

"Renamon?"

The Digimon tilted her head at Rumiko. "Yes?"

"Make sure Ruki, Mom, and Alice are safe when I'm gone, okay?" Rumiko ignored the indignant snort her daughter made: they both knew Ruki could probably protect herself better than her mother could, but that was beside the point. "Well, you and Dobermon."

Renamon humored Rumiko. "I will."

"I'll do what I can," Dobermon joined in with a rumble.

Rumiko glanced toward the car sitting in the driveway – it was a medium-sized sedan, the windshield dotted with drizzle from the rainfall a few hours ago. "Not sure how we're going to do this. I didn't think we'd have so much stuff to bring."

Alice, her hand on Dobermon's flank, glanced pointedly at the mountain of supplies. "I would only take up room if I was a passenger. I'm fine with riding over on Dobermon."

Rumiko paused. Alice had a point. The best way to get everything to the shelter was by car since carrying it by Digimon didn't look that effective: the Digimon themselves couldn't carry that much and if they could actually be ridden, wouldn't the rider's hands be full? Ruki assured her it was possible to ride Renamon and no, she'd never been thrown off. Rumiko's blue eyes went toward her daughter. Ruki shrugged.

"We'll be fine riding too."

"Okay," Seiko cut in. She couldn't keep the doubt from her voice as she continued. "You'll all be okay? Both of you?"

Renamon nodded, trying to reassure the older woman. "I've always protected her with my life. That won't change."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my _own_ charge," Dobermon said at the same time, annoyed.

"– I wasn't saying that you couldn't –"

"– I've been taking care of her for my entire life! I don't need some _stranger_ telling _me_ how to protect my da -"

"Dobermon, that's enough."

The dark Digimon reluctantly backed down at Alice's quiet voice; he still looked offended, long snout twitching, ears laid back flat against his skull. Ruki's grandmother looked shell-shocked: she wasn't used to having a Digimon snarling right in her face. Even Ruki found it difficult to keep a straight face whenever that happened but then again, she'd been around Digimon way longer than her family. Rumiko watched all this with wide eyes. Now her eyes were as large as saucers as they flicked quickly from Dobermon, to Alice, Ruki and her mother, lips parted slightly.

Alice whispered something to Dobermon. It sounded like some kind of gentle reprimand, though her actual words were in inaudible. The Digimon avoided everyone's eyes and stared in irritation at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Makino," Alice said to Ruki's grandmother. "Everyone is understandably on edge at the moment. Even my companion is apt to be…touchy about certain things being said. He's been my guardian for quite some time, so he's sensitive to being questioned about my care-taking. Please understand."

Dobermon forced a mumbled apology through his fangs. It hung heavily in the air.

There was a drawn silence. Rumiko interrupted it with a forced clap of her hands, trying to be cheerful:

"Well, _that's_ over!" Rumiko chirped. She nibbled at her lower lip, eying the car in the driveway as if it was the source of all their problems and drawing everyone's attention away from Dobermon. "Guess we'll have to do this then. We'll load up and you guys can lead Mom and me to this safe place you were talking about."

Alice looked as thankful as her doll's face would allow. The sheer level of work it took to get into the evacuation point soon took everyone's minds off the incident. After they finished, everyone was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and Rumiko suggested they should get some rest. The group huddled together on a nest of thick comforters, sheets futons and the lone mattress and drifted to sleep one by one.

Then It hit.

Ruki didn't really remember a lot of the details. She'd been asleep against Renamon when _it_ happened. Suddenly there was a deafening roar bearing down right on top of them. Renamon was suddenly dragging her groggy Tamer to her feet, but the ground swayed under them and sent the two tumbling back onto the floor. The shelter shook violently. They could do little more than clutch at concrete as the tremors continued to grow worse and worse. Renamon kept her arms around her Tamer in a desperate embrace, her eyes squeezed shut.

Ruki remembered spotting Dobermon hunching over Alice, protecting her with his own body. The blond had her head covered with her arms, her legs drawn up to her chest in a ball like Ruki saw during the earthquake drills.

From this position, Ruki couldn't see her mom or grandmother.

The final quake was so powerful she almost couldn't hear her own partner's voice at all, screaming right in her ear about something she couldn't make out at. The words didn't make sense, didn't compute. For the first time in her life, Ruki _froze_, grinding to a screeching stop in her tracks. Ruki's mind went completely blank. The Tamer could only concentrate on holding onto Renamon, her fingers wound tightly in her partner's thick white fur. Renamon was the only thing that seemed real and solid, and she clung to the Rookie.

As suddenly as it came crashing down on them, the chaos was, without warning, _gone_.

Ruki didn't realize at first that Renamon was still shouting: her ears continued to ring and she stared blankly at her partner. Renamon's lips moved, blue eyes wide, but her voice was muffled, like she was trying to shout across a crowded freeway to her Tamer. Realizing that Ruki couldn't hear her, the fox-type began miming.

Was she alright? Ruki answered that she thought she was. It was weird. She could talk, could feel her voice in her throat but she couldn't hear her own words. But Renamon apparently could and the Digimon deflated with a visible sigh of relief. What about the hearing? What? Ruki asked. Renamon pointed first at her snout and then at her tufted ear, repeating the motion a second time before Ruki understood what she was asking. The Tamer hesitated. It was getting a little better, Ruki said. Probably temporary. She hoped her voice wasn't quivering. Hard to tell since the most she could hear was a murmur and the ringing in her head.

Ruki's hearing returned fairly quickly, as did her mom's and her grandmother's.

Which basically left them back where they started: holed up in the shelter and trying to get some sleep. Rumiko, on the verge of tears and bravely biting them back, ordered everyone to take a nap or something, to not talk about what happened until they were rested and calm. But apparently Rumiko didn't follow her own rules since she and her mother were _still_ talking in over Ruki's head. And a few hours earlier, Ruki remembered hearing Dobermon and Alice's voices in hushed whispers.

Ruki wanted to get some sleep.

But with her eyes closed like this, lying still on a blanket that did little to soften the hard concrete under her body, the Tamer was all too aware of her surroundings. The air had to have at least increased a few degrees in temperature, feeling arid now and making her skin feel itchy. Even inside, she could still smell the scent of something burning, although it had to be far away since they didn't relocate. Ruki wanted to go outside, see for herself what happened, but Rumiko put her foot down, and expressly forbid leaving until everyone got at least some sleep.

_Jenrya and everyone better be okay_.

Being partners with Renamon taught her the hard way that she couldn't always expect the impossible, expect perfect results time and time again. And she was realistic enough now about battles to know that even _she_ was going to need help. A lot of help.

Besides, it wasn't like she was total strangers with the others. She almost could count Takato and Jenrya as friends, a thought that startled her the more she thought about it. So much for getting some sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Takato's voice was gone!

Black Growlmon wanted to sob. Not only had he failed to delete Gargomon, who'd been betraying him all this time, and failed to kill those humans, Takato was missing now. The Champion couldn't hear his voice anymore. His boy simply wasn't there, wasn't responding to his frantic cries. Where was Takato?

Where was his Tamer?

Hiding in that place Takato gave him as a home another life ago didn't help. Everything kept reminding him of his human. All the scenarios running through Black Growlmon's head were horrible, bloody, filled with enemies from all sides, filled with betrayal and diseases and contamination. Filled with everything Takato had specifically warned him against. Gargomon might've got to Takato while Black Growlmon was gone, might've killed his Tamer when his back was turned. The ways he saw his boy die in his mind's eye were many. The thought made Black Growlmon shake and tremble in fury, clouding his thoughts even further. What if it was true?

What if _they_ got to Takato?

The very memory of their faces infuriated Black Growlmon. Gargomon he might've been willing to spare, if only because he had the faintest memories of pleasant afternoons with the Digimon. But the two humans! Jenrya in charge, was the one pulling all the strings like a good little puppet master. He was the real evil here. The brown-haired one too! Why, they were all trying to replace Takato! Black Growlmon could see through their tricks, their wily, sneaky little tricks. Why else would the brown-haired boy "happen" to appear as Takato vanished? Far too convenient to be chance.

It'd been _their_ fault that Black Growlmon couldn't see Takato in person, their fault that he was like this, their fault Takato was weirdly silent even now.

Black Growlmon didn't even know where to begin to look for his human. If their enemies captured Takato, he wouldn't be able to get his Tamer back. That crazy thought alone, impossible as it was, made him quake in fear. But why wasn't the buzzing in his skull gone? They came with Takato's voice when Takato told him – no, _ordered_ him - to digivolve.

Takato _had_ to be alive. The buzzing was still there. They would only go away if Takato wasn't alive, right?

But why was he silent then? _He might be hurt, even if he's not dead_, Black Growlmon worried, snarling to himself, nostrils flaring, amber eyes glaring at the ground. His claws tore up the dirt as they clenched and unclenched in a nervous gesture.

Even if Takato was alive, something was wrong.

Black Growlmon peered angrily from his hiding spot. Ever since the earth began groaning and bucking like it'd been stabbed, there wasn't a sign of anyone. At all. Where were all the humans? He would've at least liked to see _one_: surely no one would miss one human and he could really use something to tear apart right now. At least something to relieve the stress and worry for a little while.

To make it worse, Black Growlmon was hungry. His empty stomach twisted and churned inside of him. When he'd been able to hear Takato's soothing voice, there hadn't been a need for food. Takato made him feel so good he was far too giddy to bother with the nuisance of eating and he went at least two days without doing so, running only on the sound of his Tamer's words. A few gulps of water had been allowed. Takato's voice was enough. Pleasing Takato and protecting him was better than any kind of food. But without Takato here, the Shadow could only listen to the insistent growls of his stomach. There was nothing else to distract him anymore.

Which left Black Growlmon to wonder, still hidden in the thick foliage.

What did meat taste like?

_Takato never told me to eat meat_. Black Growlmon knew he must be built for it, though. Takato gave him rows and rows of beautiful knifelike fangs. Knives were best for meat. Black Growlmon remembered Takato – a long time ago – trying to explain all the kinds of utensils in the bread-kitchen one night. Guilmon back then had watched with wide golden eyes as his Tamer held up a pair of chopsticks, saying they were for picking up food. Like claws for humans. But if something – like meat – was too big for the "chopsticks", then you had to cut them with a knife. Knives were like fangs. Knives were for meat and for killing, and for slicing open the meat once it was nice and dead and "edible". Takato surely knew that. Why else give him knives for teeth?

Black Growlmon moaned as his stomach jumped again, gurgling painfully. If he was going to hunt down Gargomon and those human vermin, he'd need to have more energy. Only…he didn't want bread. Bread was too easy to get. No challenge in eating _that_. Venting his rage and frustration on it did nothing except destroy his meal. But meat now; meat looked more and more tempting each time, especially since Black Growlmon never tried the stuff.

The most important thing was the meat would have to be alive.

Okay, alive at first. Of course he'd either have to kill it or delete it eventually, depending on what he ended up with. He couldn't delete a Digimon outright, since it'd evaporate in his fangs and then where was the point in that? The Shadow wasn't entirely sure of the mechanics involved in this.

Black Growlmon liked to fantasize about ripping things apart. Humans, Digimon, buildings, anything. It never really mattered. The mental images of destroying something – anything – were good ones. They made him feel a little better, made him feel a little more sane. Takato allowed him to have such luxuries. It kept him lucid enough that he could listen to his Tamer's orders and attempt to carry them out. A shudder at a recent memory. Those humans had a horrible machine with them, something that made him feel terrible. He hadn't liked that. It made his hide feel prickly and his brain like it was melting, legs turning all wobbly and boneless. The worst part was that it made him deaf, dumb and blind to Takato for a few terrifying seconds.

_Takato wouldn't want me to wait forever_. Black Growlmon would be expected to use his own brain, make his own decisions so that when Takato did come back, he had something to proudly show to his Tamer. The Shadow's mind raced now, his acid-yellow eyes deceptively sleepy.

Wouldn't Takato be happy if Black Growlmon got rid of his enemies for him? Gave him a nice little surprise when he came back? That, or if _they_ had Takato, then he would have to take his Tamer back. And while he was doing so, he might as well wipe them out while he was at it. In fact, he could probably get some meat at the same time.

Black Growlmon's stomach gnawed at him again.

With the rain, the ash from the fires and the snow drifting down from the sky, his powerful sense of smell suffered. Locating the enemy would be difficult, especially on an empty stomach and rapidly running out of energy at the rate he was. There had to be closer sources of meat here.

Black Growlmon got to his hind feet, stooping down so he could clear the canopy of the trees, and continued noisily down the hill with more purpose than before. The huge Champion emerged out onto the path. His eyes narrowed in the late morning's light, the Digimon hissing in irritation.

Partners protected and loved one another. Partners would gladly kill for one another. That was the whole point of them being together, wasn't it? He was positive there was nothing in this world closer than a Digimon and his partner.

Still hissing, Black Growlmon lumbered through the park, alert and on the lookout for anything that could count as prey. Even if Shinjuku Park was devoid of life (as it was now), he could surely find some meat close by. Really too bad the park wasn't as alive as it used to be. It used to be crowded. He remembered little kids playing, monitored by the larger humans, who sometimes ate on blankets or brought their dogs to go run around on the grass. They would go stupidly sniffing into the darker areas of the park. It would've been easy to catch one of those strays – the dogs or few humans who wandered too far in – without making too much noise. But now there were none at all, nothing to even chase down.

There was only the park and it was a mess. The earthquake saw to that.

Black Growlmon stepped over the crumbled remains of a jungle gym, tail stiff behind him for balance as he headed toward the street. Wailing sirens rode the wind. A pause: he knew that sound, knew what they meant, knew what was in them. They were close. Very close. Maybe if he moved fast, he could intercept one. The problem of breakfast would be fixed! And the meal was even served in a shiny metal box on wheels.

The Shadow burst into a run, powerful legs stretching and covering the distance as he headed toward the street and the ambulance sirens.

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"Jenrya! Hey!"

Jenrya looked up. Suma came charging toward him through the snow, waving frantically even though she had his attention already.

Red in the face, Suma came to a stop, chest heaving: she'd come barreling out from around the creaking apartment building at breakneck speed, drawing stares, her wide shirt-front bouncing every which way as she sprinted. Despite her girth, she moved with surprisingly quickness, jumping nimbly over debris and dodging the people in her path, sending them scattering like a flock of sparrows. Now she was doubled over, out of breath, and cheeks flushed in splotches of red, but looking the very picture of triumph.

"I think we found someone fitting your descriptions!" Suma said once she regained her breath.

Jenrya perked hopefully at this.

"He's waiting over there," Suma pointed back the way she came. "Come on!"

And she turned on her heel and promptly charged back in the opposite direction, sending those who returned to their places scattering once more out of the way. Jenrya stared and then took off after her as best he could, managing a slow jog, trying to mind the injured shoulder. Suma waited impatiently for him near the fire escape's shattered base and then led the way, rounding the building to the parking garage behind the apartment complex. Three people were already at its entrance. Jenrya recognized Yasuo: he and a young woman were talking. Occasionally Yasuo would glance at someone in their midst, say something angrily, but the two adults were blocking the Tamer's view of who the man was talking to.

It was only when Suma started shouting at Yasuo and the group turned that Jenrya saw who it was.

He met Ryo's eyes for a second across the closing gap. The taller boy didn't look like he got off any better than he did; Ryo had a bloodied bandage wrapped clumsily around his head and a large bruise across one battered cheek. He didn't have a chance to say anything because Yasuo was speaking again, ignoring Suma and Jenrya and turning back to the two. His voice was raised and tight:

"What the hell is this?" he stabbed an angry finger at the collection of luggage, clothing and food at Ryo's feet, glaring at the young woman next to him. "It's only been a couple of hours and we've already got people _looting_?"

Ryo said nothing to defend himself, expression sullen and resigned. The woman next to him had different ideas, her almond eyes narrowed as she shouted right back into Yasuo's face.

"We're _not_ stealing! I went back to get Chanchan –

"You _snuck_ in! What part of 'don't enter, it's not safe' don't you people understand?"

The girl – she couldn't have been out of college – kept right on yelling, her raised voice matching Yasuo's.

"Chanchan's my _pet_! And Ryo said that stuff belongs to his friend!"

Yasuo scowled, his face creasing. He tried to calm himself. "Look, whatever your name is –"

"Tadako."

"Look, _Tadako_," Yasuo gritted his teeth, barely managing to keep his temper in check this time. The girl bristled as he glowered at both her and Ryo. "I don't care if that hamster is your pet. It's stupid not only to waltz into an unstable building, but putting a child at risk is…I…I can't even tell you how insanely dumb that is! _I'm not done talking_!" he suddenly snarled as Tadako opened her mouth to argue. "And how do you know he was telling the truth? How do _I_ know you're telling the truth, for that matter?"

"_Hey_!"

Suma's bellow made the two of them turn. Ignoring the irritated stares from Yasuo and Tadako, she marched up to the group with Jenrya in tow. Ryo flicked a glance again at Jenrya, but continued to keep his silence. So far Ryo had taken everything without flinching. Or reacting at all, for that matter.

"Hate to bust in and break up the intelligent conversation here," Suma waggled an eyebrow reprovingly at the two other adults, "but having a catfight in front of the kids and all doesn't seem appropriate."

Tadako blushed. Yasuo's anger seemed to lessen by a few degrees, though his voice remained stern. Suma stepped aside, nodding her head toward Jenrya.

"Remember Jenrya?" Suma asked. Yasuo nodded. Suma's eyes flicked to Ryo. "Well, I think that's one of the people he was looking for."

Yasuo frowned at this, looking doubtful. He turned to Ryo. "What's his last name?"

"Lee," Ryo answered, speaking up for the first time.

Yasuo tried again. "Who was with you two earlier?"

"His dad, sister and some woman called Reika."

Suma nodded at this, confirming the boy's words. Yasuo didn't look entirely satisfied but he let it slide. "Looks like it's true then," he said grudgingly. He pointed at the collection at Ryo's feet. "So what's all this then? You admitted none of it was yours."

Ryo shrugged. "Tadako and I were up there already. I figured I might as well salvage stuff we could use if we ended up homeless or something. It'd be stupid to leave without being prepared."

"So you went in and took someone else's things without asking? You're aware that _is_ stealing?"

Ryo only shrugged again. Yasuo had the same surprised look as the rest of the adults.

"Did you go into any other apartments?" he asked once he got over his astonishment.

Ryo shook his head. "Nope."

"Did you take anything else?"

"No," Ryo said again. But his tone made it clear if he could've – and had the hands for it – he probably would've.

Yasuo rubbed at his lined face at this, making a sound of exasperation. Tadako shot Ryo a strange look. Jenrya wanted to sigh and copy Yasuo; sometimes Ryo could be way too blunt about some things. He still couldn't decide if that was his nature or what. Apparently he was the only one who thought that way. Awkward silence reigned.

"We're going to have to find Jenrya's family," Suma cleared her throat. "I'll to steal Ryo here for a bit."

Still silent, Ryo obediently switched from Yasuo to Suma as she herded them away. She dropped them off out of hearing range with a stern _don't wander too far_ and turned back to confront the two other adults. Jenrya glanced with his good eye sidelong at Ryo: he had his arms crossed over his chest, black eyes looking out toward the street at one of the pillars of smoke rising up into the air in the distance.

"What?"

Jenrya stared at him. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ryo shrugged. "I don't care what they think."

The Tamer did sigh this time. "But they're the ones in charge."

Ryo grunted.

"What about you?" Ryo asked. He glanced pointedly at Jenrya's left side, which he was favoring. "What happened?"

"I don't know. It hurts a lot when I move it."

He listened as Jenrya described what it felt like. "It's either dislocated or broken," Ryo said with a shrug. "I could try to pop it back into place if it's a dislocation, but if it's broken…"

Ryo happened to glance up as he was saying this and caught the expression on Jenrya's face at his haphazard assessment. The taller boy trailed off, quickly looking away as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Jenrya wanted to sneak another glance at Ryo. Was he still angry at him? With Ryo it was hard to tell. He hadn't been around the boy long enough to know if he was the type to hold grudges or not. Still, now wasn't exactly the time for this sort of thing. What about Terriermon? Jenrya bit his lip. What if he was hurt? Or lost? All Jenrya wanted was to spot a flash of those floppy ears, a glimpse of green scurrying from shadow to shadow and keeping an eye on him.

Anything to tell him his partner was alive.

And there was the matter of Dad and Shuichon. From what he managed to catch from Suma, it sounded like there were several people spotted already who could fit the descriptions; the problem was getting them here so he could identify them. He was almost sure that his family was okay. At least…he hoped so.

Jenrya's main worry was his partner. _You're an idiot_, Jenrya told himself in disgust, _an idiot who needs to stop feeling sorry for himself and actually _do_ something_. Ryo looked up as Jenrya suddenly stood up.

"Where're you going?"

"Terriermon's around here somewhere. I'm going to go look for him."

Ryo glanced back toward the parking structure. "That woman's gonna ome back," he said. "I'm not taking her flak for you."

"I'm not asking you to."

He sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. I'm coming too."

Together they set off. Snow and ash continued to drift down from the sky. Jenrya shivered a little. _Terriermon has to be a lot warmer_, he mused, _what with all that fur_. The Rookie always made fun of Jenrya whenever it got cold, boasting that while his fur wasn't long and shaggy, at least he wasn't as furless as his human. Jenrya clung onto those memories, trying to shove aside the more violent ones his imagination kept trying to dredge up.

_Terriermon's okay_, Jenrya tried to calm down. He would…well, Jenrya would _know_ if something happened to Terriermon. He had to. Ryo even said flat-out they were different, that they had some bond that made them special. Tamers could sense that kinda thing, right? He wasn't even sure if Ryo had any experience with having a Tamer-bond; the few times Ryo bothered to even make passing mentions to having a partner, he sounded downright bitter.

"He's probably okay."

Jenrya turned at this. "What?"

"Terriermon's probably okay," Ryo repeated.

"I hope so," Jenrya said, wondering if Ryo somehow read his mind. "I'm worried about him. A lot."

Ryo flicked a black-eyed glance at the other boy at this, but said nothing. His expression bordered on apprehensive sympathy. Jenrya looked down at the ground, as if to gather himself, closing his eyes for a brief second before speaking again:

"I mean, he's never been gone this long before. We've never been separated like this."

"You know for sure he'd feel the same way?" Ryo asked quietly. "He would worry as much about this as you?"

Jenrya nodded.

"Then he's probably fine," Ryo said with conviction.

Jenrya wanted to believe the other boy. He knew Ryo wasn't the type to give false hope and Jenrya trusted him enough not to start now.

"I hope you're right," Jenrya replied. They made it back to where Jenrya had been found by Suma and Jiro; at least, it looked close enough from what he could remember. Some of the snow had been kicked into a brown-sludge after mixing with the dirt and shoes since the last time. "I think this is where they found me."

Ryo looked around, frowning. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Let's start looking then."

The two boys wandered down the street and toward the next complex, trying to remain unobtrusive. Once Jenrya recognized one of the men close-by - Jiro – and he and Ryo ducked into an alleyway until the adult moved on without seeing them. Once Jiro left, they continued their search. Jenrya wasn't sure what they were looking for, whether there would be some sign or they were supposed to be looking for traces of fur or paw prints in the melting sludge. He tried to keep a straight face. Easier said than done when that strange little empty helplessness was starting to set in once again.

He kept sneaking peeks at Ryo over his shoulder. Ryo had a partner at one point. He had that D-Arc, after all. The thing responded to his touch, so it had to be his. _How can he … go on like it's every other day without his partner?_ Jenrya wondered. _I mean, if a few hours is like this, how can he take it so well?_ It boggled his mind. Only a few hours already seemed bad enough.

"I think we're going in circles," Ryo said finally. "Terriermon's not around here. We should start spreading out."

"Do you think he could be that far away?"

"I dunno."

They continued deeper into the maze of alleys and walls leading into the neighboring complex. Rubble from the earthquake had smashed in the wooden gate dividing the two apartments, and it should've been easy to scramble over the hunks of concrete and metal. But what with Jenrya's injured shoulder, Ryo's hand and his twisted ankle, it proved to be difficult. Ryo nearly did a number on his good ankle when he slipped on a loose brick. The only thing that saved him was the small patch of grass and snow on the other side to cushion his fall. Jenrya offered a hand to help the other boy off the ground. Looking up at the hand, Ryo hesitated, then accepted it and heaved himself back to his feet.

This apartment building had gotten off worse than theirs. Jenrya tried to think of how he could find Terriermon; he was staring aimlessly toward one of the apartments exposed to the elements when he suddenly had an idea, one so blatantly, stupidly obvious that he was startled he hadn't figured it out sooner. He fumbled with his pockets.

"What're you doing?" Ryo kept his voice low, trying not to attract any unnecessary attention from the strangers walking right in front of their little hiding place as he stared at the other boy.

Jenrya didn't look at him. "My D-Arc!" he whispered back, still fishing around. Miraculously, he actually had it, even though he didn't remember grabbing the thing. It'd been sitting on his desk before this whole thing. _Must've been automatic reflex_. "We can use this to find Terriermon."

He couldn't stop the relieved smile from appearing when a green blip appeared on the LCD screen, rotating around the display as the D-Arc tried to get a lock on Terriermon. His fingers tightened around the silver casing. The green dot gave a healthy glow as it spun round and round and round.

It slowed, beeped, and locked into place.

Jenrya took off through the melting snow and mud toward the wreckage before Ryo could stop him: the Tamer blindly followed his D-Arc, ignoring the pain from his shoulder as he left the relative safety of the shadows. Ryo went after him. Jenrya didn't turn to see how far Ryo was behind him, not when his eyes were only on the green D-Arc.

_Terriermon! I'm coming!_

Off in the distance, thick black plumes of smoke towered higher and higher into the hazy sky. Ash, carried by the drying breeze, continued to drift down with the snow. In wards all over the city, people cried out in confusion and anger as ambulances and firefighters drove right past them and disappeared into the distance with hardly a second glance. There weren't enough to go around. Everything was in short supply. Fires continued to spring up everywhere – the ones near the JR line were already starting to lick at some of the railroad tracks – and the emergency units put out one fire only to have another materialize behind their backs as soon as they finished.

Sent to its knees, Tokyo reeled.

******To be continued**  
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	24. Reunions

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Sorry for the long delay; ended up getting on a stuck point. Anyway, transition chapter, mostly Ryo/Jenrya with brief appearances by Zudomon, Garurumon and Black Growlmon. Next chapter should be primarily Takato/Black Guilmon/Black Growlmon.

New DS doodle sketches; Alice, Ryo, Jenrya and Juggernaut. Same place as always at the end of the chapter.

Lame title. Again. Reviews are very much appreciated, but they don't determine how long I take on chapters.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similar to telepathy

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Aftermath)

Reunions

It was going to be a beautiful evening.

Afternoon deepened. The haze hanging over the cityscape darkened from gold to burnt red as the sun began to set. Thick columns of smoke – thousands of feet in height by now - dotted Tokyo for miles around and the sun continued to sink out of view, oblivious to the burning metropolis below. These fires had to be one of the most beautiful things the two Digimon had seen since they had arrived in the Real World. They were like little stars, the smaller one said. That, or campfires. They were indeed pretty, the second (the larger of the pair) agreed. But he didn't think they looked like stars or campfires. They didn't look like anything but what they were. There wasn't anything poetic about it.

"Nonsense! You have no imagination!" Garurumon sniffed. "Look what isolation's done to you."

Zudomon tried to glance up at his companion: the Wolf perched comfortably on his head and he couldn't see the other Digimon from such a position. He could certainly feel Garurumon, however; the other Digimon flopped down from a sitting position and curled up just above his massive brow. Even though Zudomon remained almost completely submerged in Odaiba's harbor, the Ultimate easily kept his head – and his passenger – above the lapping waters of the bay.

"Isolation is what I would've much preferred, actually," Zudomon replied mildly.

Garurumon's voice floated down from above. "We have been honored, friend. Not only have we been healed of the evils, but we've been given a chance to redeem ourselves."

"I know."

"We can repay those who've helped us: I think _that_ must amount to something to be thankful for."

"…I know."

"Once we finish with the Real World, things will go back to how they used to. We'll retire with full honors once every wrong has been righted and order restored…"

Garurumon suddenly paused, thinking. When he spoke up again, he sounded very pleased with himself:

"Let us exchange promises, Zudomon. See this Council business through to the end. And I will find you a new home to live in this World, one much better than your old domain. I will _make_ this worth both our trouble; it will be like the old times, I can promise you _that_."

Despite being unable to see Garurumon, Zudomon rolled his large eyes up toward his friend again, as trying to decide if he really meant it. "…That sounds very nice – I think I could like that. It's a promise," he said more enthusiastically than before, for the first time almost smiling. "But that promise is still too one-sided."

"Is that so?"

"If I'm to have a (supposedly) better domain than my old one, you must at least visit."

"I _have_ visited in the past."

"Barely; you've spent more time with the Holy Beasts than with the others."

Garurumon's voice, a mix between defensive and sheepish, floated down. "Perhaps. Very well. I'll visit you more often in your new domain. I would share it in an instant if I knew you wouldn't mind my company for so long."

"We will see," Zudomon was all would say.

Another comfortable silence as Garurumon's twin tails wagged slowly.

Zudomon watched one of the newer smoke columns emerging from the city around them. It twisted slowly, black sides bulging out at a snail's pace and curling into the sky. Garurumon gave a hum of content; for now he was happy to simply watch the sky and the fires with the other Digimon. He had ranted and cursed the humans and every other thing that bothered him in this World for a few hours while Zudomon listened sympathetically, until finally the Wolf ran out of things to spit at. After that, they exchanged news, the usual rumors and gossip, continued month-old debates as if they had been separated for only a few minutes.

The most heated topic was, of course, Greymon's deletion.

The Shield hadn't known about that. He could imagine Garurumon – from his perch – shaking his wolfish head as he said that Greymon just lost control one day, vanishing after the journey South to seek advice from the Holy Beast of Fire, Zhuqiaomon. Apparently he'd ended up here in the Real World as an illegal biomerge, which was why the Council-governed Digimon here hadn't bothered to come to his aid when he needed it most. Surely they had known just who Greymon was! Zudomon protested. How could they stand by and do _nothing_? It was indeed a sad, unfortunate turn in events, Garurumon replied. But if Greymon hadn't been well enough to handle just one of these humans and their slaves…

Perhaps it was for the better.

"But he was a good friend," Zudomon argued. "Whether he wasn't cleansed enough or not –"

"He's _gone_," Garurumon cut him off, irate. "And once again, we can thank humans for it."

That pretty much killed the conversation right there and then.

Humans were always a sensitive subject around Garurumon. Out of the remaining Chosen group, he'd always been the first to rally behind any anti-human causes, with Birdramon not far behind. None of them cared for this Council – they had seen such attempts to unify the Digital World fail before - but Garurumon was willing to humor them to get what he wanted. The Wolf could be surprisingly persuasive and whenever he spoke publicly, the younger Digimon would gather around him, hanging onto his every word. They gasped in horror when he described atrocities the humans were capable of, cried in sympathy when he told of his enslavement and sighed in relief when he praised the Purge and quarantines.

Zudomon never much liked talking about humans himself: he didn't care for them either, but he didn't see how massacring a bunch of the little ants was going to prove or change anything.

That always made his wolfish companion stutter and stumble over normally eloquent words. The Wolf would get irritated, and remind him hotly that humans were terrible little monsters. Garurumon didn't even have to say it anymore - his angry gaze said it for him: _Look what yours did to you. Look how you limp on land, how you flounder so helplessly, how horribly twisted that leg is!_ _Surely you remember. Your human refused to go down so easily, refused to let you be cleansed. He made you fight _his_ battles, made you a cripple rather than let you go._ Zudomon hated being reminded of That Time. Bad, hellish memories all around that should be forgotten. It was true that he was destined to remain with a bad limp for as long as he lived, but the cause was in the past and better left there.

Garurumon didn't seem to share the same thoughts. He constantly dwelled in the past, wallowed in anger and hurt. Zudomon was almost positive he enjoyed working himself up into a healthy rage.

But differences aside, Zudomon still respected the other Digimon. So long as they avoided talking about humans in general – the core matter being what should be done with them – he found Garurumon to be surprisingly pleasant company, more so now than before the Purge. Before then, they hadn't really gotten to know each other: humans demanded a lot of one's attention, after all. So while Zudomon hadn't been overjoyed to find he had been officially declared "the Shield" (some ridiculous title the Council came up with), he was pleased to see his friend after such a long absence. _It's been what?_ A year? More?

Quite a while, it seemed.

The smoke pillar Zudomon was watching by now had spiraled up toward the black cloud forming over the city and started to drift west. Night quickly approached. The sun finally set when Zudomon finally said aloud what had been on his mind for the last couple of days:

"So…you said you ran into more humans when you arrived?"

Garurumon cracked open an eye at this. "I did. Foul little younglings with more slaves," he answered sourly. "The slaves couldn't be reasoned with."

"You tried?"

"Of course. But they were too far gone to listen."

"How…how many were there?"

"More then three at the very least, could be more. Can't say for certain. All I know is I don't like it."

Zudomon hesitated. From what he already knew, it sounded like these were the same ones who barged in when he released the barrier. He didn't dare voice his growing morbid curiosity regarding these humans, especially not to Garurumon: his friend could – and probably would - report him to the Council or to the Holy Beasts, if only for his own good. They could easily drag him back for another round of cleansing if it looked like he was going to be a subversive influence. Still, he had to wonder how – and when – these new human children had popped up. Who were these new Digimon? Why were they risking themselves? The Purges hadn't been too far back in the past for them to have already forgotten…

The Ultimate heaved a sigh. None of this was his business and Garurumon was right when he said that there were more important things to think of, to plan for. To wait for.

Besides, he'd better things to be worrying about right now: it wasn't every day that he had guests to entertain.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo was getting tired and he didn't bother to mask the yawn this time around. The exhaustion was contagious and Jenrya stifled his own urge to yawn, biting it back and rubbing vigorously at his eyes. They had been searching for Terriermon for at least several hours before their luck ran out and Jenrya made the mistake of stepping into the open, right in front of a furious Suma. The portly woman descended on them before he could beat any kind of retreat, taking them both by the arms and leading them back toward the forming "camp", all the while scolding them and giving a good dressing down.

"Where've you two _been_?" Suma demanded as she tried to figure out which of the two boys to fix her glare on: Ryo seemed unresponsive and Jenrya himself didn't even look like he was paying attention to her, constantly looking over his shoulder. The woman gave frustrated sigh, "Look, I know I'm not your moms but until _someone_ shows up, it's _my_ responsibility to look after you kids! And I can't do that if you're running off like nothing matters! What were you two even doing out there?"

Ryo covered for the two of them. "We were…uh, looking around. Exploring and stuff."

Jenrya shot an exasperated glance at the other boy at this: it was a weak excuse, and he didn't believe for a second it fooled their self-appointed guardian. Her expression was sour.

"I'm sure you were," Suma said dryly. "So what's the real story?"

Jenrya thought fast. "Um…well, I was really worried about my dad, so I thought we could try looking for him," the Tamer said. "You guys seemed busy so I thought…"

Suma's expression softened a little at this.

"We're still looking, Jenrya. Believe me, Yasuo might be on the uptight side and mad at what Ryo here did, but that doesn't mean he can't be asked for help. And if you didn't want to deal with him, you could've just pulled me aside and we could've just gone looking together. It's not smart, you two boys running around by yourselves right now. We're just neighbors, but us neighbors gotta stick together, look out after each other, y'know?"

"Sorry," Jenrya mumbled.

Suma stared at him for a few seconds, and then looked forward, finally dropping the subject. "Well, here we are."

Jenrya glanced around in dismay: in the few hours they'd been wandering out of view of the apartment, Yasuo had transformed it into some kind of base camp. Tents – some store bought, others makeshift – dotted the damp ground, encircling what looked like a giant heap of blankets, sheets, comforters and towels. Someone had dragged some kind of large trash can from somewhere and it looked like whoever they were, they were trying to start a fire in it, with little success. Flashlights and portable lamps were placed, seemingly at random, around the little encampment as people hurried back and forth, only hazy shadows in the deepening evening. He managed to identify Yasuo's voice shouting orders, but aside from that, none of the adults running around sounded even remotely familiar.

Suma led them toward the blanket mountain, clapping a hand on Jenrya's uninjured shoulder.

"Don't worry. If we don't find them by tonight, we'll definitely find them in the morning. Yasuo's supposed to get everyone into some kind of meeting so we can get some names down at least. After that, we can figure out what to do from there."

Jenrya nodded numbly. He watched as Suma began rummaging through the blankets, selecting those here and there, tossing others back into the heap after they apparently failed her appraisal. Ryo quickly joined her after he realized what she was doing.

"I wish I could say we've got futons and mattresses, but whatever they salvaged, they gave to the people who got hurt," Suma explained, kneeling down and handing Jenrya a plaid sheet. "Here. Hope you don't mind sleeping on the ground for a night."

"I'd worry more about the cold than the ground," Ryo remarked. "The ground can't kill you."

Suma glanced sharply at the other boy – he had been sullen, quiet for the most part. Whenever he _did_ actually speak, she kept getting the impression that he was either angry at her or amused at the whole fiasco with the earthquakes, and for a second, she had to wonder what a nice kid like Jenrya had to do with someone like his "friend." Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well, it's not comfortable is all I'm saying," Suma replied. "I wouldn't worry about the cold, not with all the blankets and clothing we've got."

Ryo only shrugged and went back to work looking through the pile.

Suma turned to her other charge; she finally seemed to notice just how tired Jenrya was, the boy drooping in exhaustion and starting to wilt to the left. She sighed and promptly ordered him to go lie down in the blue tent – no, not _that_ one, the other one – and take a nap or something, get some rest. _Don't worry about the meeting_, she said. If they found anything, she would wake him up. Jenrya couldn't find it in him to argue or even sneak off again as he turned and shuffled off toward the blue tent with the plaid sheet in tow.

_How can any of this be happening?_

Jenrya couldn't come up with an answer to that as he located the "tent" – little more than a series of tarps and sheets stretched taut over part of the ruined fire escape – and sat down heavily. Plastic crinkled under him. Looked like they were using trash bags to line the ground, still damp from snow that so far had mostly melted away. Trying to make any kind of bed proved to be more difficult than he thought, especially since he could only use one hand, and he quickly gave up after a few useless efforts. Lying down was worse; his breath caught as the bad shoulder got jostled, but he managed to drape the plaid sheet over him, bunching the rest behind his head in a pillow that did little to soften the ground below.

Despite his growing exhaustion, he could only stare up at the ceiling of the tent, unable to sleep.

Stuff like this just didn't happen.

First Takato, then the whole thing with Guilmon, and that disaster with Takato's parents. Now this: he was _alone_, without family, without Terriermon, with only a strange boy he didn't even know that much about for company. Even if he could ignore all of that, his mind now struggled to wrap itself around the growing realization that he wasn't sleeping on a bed, that he more than likely wouldn't for a long while. He was probably homeless – the unspoken "safety" of his family's apartment was gone. No more walls between him and the outside city where Takato was still missing, where those _things_ were out there, waiting for who knew what.

As if things hadn't been bleak enough before.

Jenrya didn't even know where to start. His head ached and he wasn't even sure if it was due to getting knocked about or just stress…either way, it felt like his brain wanted to implode. It was hard enough trying to come to terms with the fact that he was homeless, let alone still expected to deal with the whole situation with the Digimon – and how could he do that without Terriermon anyway?

The half-Chinese boy closed leaden eyes at this, trying to will himself to sleep. All these doubts were just popping up because he was tired. Bad as all this was, there were larger problems out there. Jenrya knew that. So did Ruki and the others. He had to get it together and Do Something. _I've got to be stronger than this, _he thought

But he hadn't felt this helpless before in his life. Ever.

Jenrya wanted to have a good, private cry off in the corner, where no one would notice, but even that sounded like it'd be too much effort at the moment. And besides, what good would crying do right now? Sure, it might make him feel better (well, a little), but that was about all it was good for. And so was even thinking about all of this in the first place. Suma was right, he should get some rest. At least he could try to straighten everything out and form some kind of plan – seeing as he had zero right now – in a few hours. A part of him hoped that maybe when he woke up, everything would be somehow fixed. Or that maybe he could dream up some kind of miracle idea and get them out of this mess.

Stupid? Definitely.

Still, better to have silly hopes than nothing at all.

By now fatigue caught up, creeping up through Jenrya's body, and he found himself gradually drifting off into an uneasy sleep. There were no dreams; only a void, a sensation of shifting, tossing and turning in discomfort on plastic, heartbeats that seemed too fast, too loud, drumming in his chest.

Several hours must have passed; Jenrya thought he was just starting to doze off when he imagined he heard voices outside the tent and drawing closer. He didn't have time to properly wake up when there were suddenly arms around him, sweeping him up in a huge bear hug and pressing him close to someone's chest. He was so surprised that he completely forgot about the pain blossoming anew from his injuries:

"Jenrya! I was so _worried_…!"

Jenrya looked about wildly, trying to figure out who in the world was attacking him. "Wh…who-I?" he managed to stammer intelligently. It took him a long, groggy second before he realized whose face he was now blinking owlishly at, "…_Dad_?"

Janyuu didn't even try to hide the tears glimmering in his eyes. He nodded.

"Yeah. I…just…" Janyuu started and trailed off. Unable to come up with any words at a loss, he just hugged his son again, almost as tightly as before. Suma kept her distance off in the back; she exchanged smiles with Yasuo as the two adults left to give the two some privacy.

Janyuu finally released Jenrya, sitting back on his heels and looking his son over. The older man frowned, noticing for the first time the injuries, and, reaching out, he gently tilted the Tamer's chin left and right, taking in the bruises, the various scratches, and the forming black eye. The blue-haired boy winced at this inspection. The frown deepened even further and Jenrya was alarmed to see his father brush angrily at forming tears as he finally settled back, facing his son in the meager light.

"I should've made sure you were behind us," he said, eyebrows drawn together. "I should've gone back and made _sure_."

Jenrya looked down at his hands. "I'm okay, Dad. Really."

"You don't look okay. I…I should've made sure," Janyuu repeated, gritting his teeth. "It looks like you got hit by a car or something!"

"It could've been worse," the Tamer replied. He wasn't sure he even believed it much himself. "They said that the black eye thing'll go away in a few days and they did wash out scratches and stuff. They said they'll try to do something about my arm –"

Janyuu cut him off. "–Wait, what _about_ your arm?"

"I…um…" Jenrya stuttered, realizing he'd said too much. He avoided his father's eyes, "I guess it got messed up in the...accident."

"How so?" Janyuu's voice took on a strange, tight tone.

"I can't move it very well and my shoulder feels really weird. I can't lift it and it…um…it kinda hurts. A little. They don't think it's broken," Jenrya said quickly.

Janyuu had a positively deadly look on his face. "We've got to get you to a hospital, you can't be running around like this," he said, starting to get up, expression determined. "I can't believe they didn't do anything!"

"Wait, Dad, I –"

"No, it's not right that they just –"

"_Dad_!"

Janyuu stopped and stared at Jenrya, startled at the vehemence in his son's voice. The Tamer sighed, "They _did_ try to help. No one here knows what's wrong with it," Jenrya paused. He swallowed. "I-I can't leave even if they did. Not without Terriermon."

"He's not with you?"

"We…we got separated after the earthquakes," Jenrya found his words tumbling together as he rushed on. "Ryo said that I'd _know_ if something happened to Terriermon but we haven't found him yet even though we were looking everywhere with my D-Arc and I'm really worried he's hurt or something and I don't know what I'd do if he was because last time was when I –"

"Jenrya."

"What?"

"Slow down, I can barely understand you. Take a deep breath. I'm not going anywhere."

Jenrya took a deep breath. Let it out. Tried to find his center and hold onto it; for some reason, he remembered his sensei and for the briefest of seconds, he wondered whatever happened to the old martial arts teacher. Trying to locate the calm spot turned out to be harder than usual and it took several more deep breaths before he managed to quell the beginnings of panic, and conquer it enough so that he wouldn't start rambling like that again. The bonfire crackled and spat outside. Janyuu waited patiently throughout all of this; he only spoke up when it was clear that Jenrya had calmed himself down.

"I'm not an expert on how the whole human and Digimon relationship works, but I'd think that if you two _are_ that close, then Ryo's probably right. Terriermon's probably fine, he's probably just held up somewhere. I'm sure we can find him."

"I really hope so, Dad."

"I know. And I promise you I'll do what I can. But in the meantime, we're going to have to focus on what we're going to do right now," Janyuu scowled. "They weren't letting us go back into the apartment, so I think we're going to have to sleep outside for a bit. I don't think you and your sister should be outside in this kind of weather, but…"

"Where's Shuichon?" Jenrya asked.

"She's with Ms. Ootori and Ryo; she's fine, don't worry about it," Janyuu pushed up his glasses. "I was thinking that we'll stick with these people for a bit longer until we can get into contact with the Ms. Makino and the Matsudas. Make sure everyone's okay, try to find some kind of doctor to do something about your arm – I still can't believe they didn't -" Janyuu caught his son's look. "Sorry. It's just…complicated."

Jenrya wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry or both at that. It seemed so downright ridiculous to even sit here and talk like this as if they were sitting back in their living room or around the kitchen table over breakfast, and he couldn't even think of anything comforting to say. There wasn't really much to be said anyway, at least nothing that hadn't already been touched on before. Janyuu fished about for something to break the silence, failed, and sighed as the two of them glanced outside the tent.

The bonfire twisted and snapped up into the cool air, spitting forth sparks into the night. Jenrya slept through most of Yasuo's meeting so his father quickly summarized it as best he could: they were going to organize into groups based on apartment complexes and age. Because of the fires off in the distance, everyone seemed to agree that they had to move. To where exactly hadn't been decided yet, since some argued that they had to find a hospital, others insisted they go seek out personal friends in other wards. All Janyuu knew was that he was in the former camp, more so now than ever. Besides, the nearest emergency room was close to the Matsudas; they should probably check up on them if they were going that way. Jenrya kept nodding numbly as he took in all of this, his brain ready to go shut down again as he wearily leaned against his father's broad shoulder.

When Janyuu happened to glance over at his son again, he found Jenrya fast asleep against him, breathing softly. Sighing, the older man fell silent and stared at nothing in particular, trying not to think of what tomorrow might bring.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya woke to the sound of shouting.

He opened blurry eyes, wondering why his back hurt. It felt like rocks were digging into it, and, groping about blindly, he found that there indeed _were_ rocks digging into it. The sheets and the plastic under didn't help and try as he might, he couldn't seem to slip back into the same comfortable nothingness of sleep. Feeling the worse for wear, the Tamer sat up slowly and tried to hold back the urge to sniffle through a stuffed nose. On top of everything else that was happening, he wouldn't be surprised if he caught a cold just to make things wonderfully fun. The timing would be just _perfect_, he thought sourly.

_Where's Dad?_ Jenrya looked around. He wasn't alone; Ryo must have crawled in some time during the night at Janyuu's prompting. Now the brunette lay curled up in the corner of the cramped tent, using his own set of sheets as pillows, bundled up in several jackets and sweatshirts, and sleeping far more soundly than Jenrya had. But his dad was nowhere in sight and on top of that, the shouting outside was only growing louder and more insistent. The Tamer ignored the other boy for the moment, half-crawling as best he could so he could look outside and see what all the commotion was about.

Others in the little cluster of tents were doing the same: more and more sleepy heads peered out to stare as people ran past, heading toward the forming mob crowding around something and clearly excited. Behind Jenrya, Ryo stirred, rolling over onto his back.

"Mm…what time is it?" he mumbled.

"I don't know."

"What's all that noise?"

"I don't know."

A pause and then another sleepy mumble. "…We still shafted?"

"I think so," Jenrya said softly.

"Oh."

Jenrya turned around. Ryo had one dark eye fixed on him, face scrunched up in a scowl at he rubbed away sleep with his good hand and sat up. He was still working out the kinks from sleeping on the ground when Janyuu suddenly materialized from the mob forming, leading Shuichon toward them by her hand and jogging.

"Dad, what's going on?" Jenrya asked. "What's happening?"

Janyuu's voice was excited. "Apparently someone from next door's a registered nurse; she just volunteered to help us," he answered.

"So what's going on right now?"

"Everyone's jumping her," Janyuu followed his son's stare at the mob.

"…If we want a turn, we'd probably have to wait," Ryo said. "From what it looks like from over here, I think everyone else is doing our share of pushing and shoving for now."

Janyuu frowned, but he had to admit his son's friend did have a point. Ever since the tall nurse stepped forward and announced herself, flanked by Yasuo and Suma, she found herself fighting off desperately grabbing hands and begging pleas from all sides, shouting repeatedly that she could only look at everyone one at a time. No one listened, the surging crowds getting more insistent and pressing by the minute as people started shoving at one another. Yasuo roared at those assembled, yelling something about order andto _stop pushing_, otherwise the nurse couldn't see anyone.

Jenrya quailed at the sight of the chaos: he couldn't imagine trying to fight his way through that without getting trampled. From what glimpses he managed to catch of Suma, the woman looked frustrated enough to start throwing punches left and right. On top of that, hunger started to gnaw at him and he tried to remember when the last time he ate – _really_ ate - was. The most he remembered having yesterday was a bottle of lukewarm water and a few tasteless soggy crackers. That didn't count for much. _I wonder if Terriermon's had something to eat at least_, he wondered. He hoped so…

" - Our turn probably won't be for a while," Ryo was saying. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry; I'm gonna go see if I can get anything to eat around here."

Jenrya wearily snapped to attention. "I'll go with you."

Ryo gave him a pointed look. "Why don't you stay here with your dad?"

Shuichon chimed up. "I'm hungry too!"

"You just ate," Janyuu said reprovingly. "Remember? You had that apple and that juice box."

"But that wasn't breakfast, Daddy!" Shuichon pouted. "I'm _still_ hungry."

Ryo's mouth quirked in what could be almost mistaken for a smile. "She could come with me, Mr. Lee," he said. "I'll keep an eye out for her."

Janyuu met the brunette's look, and, seeing something there that Jenrya must have missed, he slowly nodded his approval. Ryo prepared to go, giving Shuichon some of his blankets to keep her warm. She wrapped the striped blanket around her like a cape, giggling.

"We'll be right back," Ryo said.

Before Jenrya could get in a word of protest, Ryo had already wormed his way out of the tent and disappeared past the growing throng still crowding around the nurse, Shuichon trotting obediently after him. Jenrya sighed. _Why did he just leave without me?_ Ryo knew what he was thinking. Food wasn't the only thing the brunette had left to go search for; both of them knew that. Jenrya's father seemed to be following the same train of thought:

"He went to go look for Terriermon, didn't he?" Janyuu asked.

"I should be searching with him."

"You're hurt."

"So is he," Jenrya frowned. "Terriermon might be hurt too for all I know."

Janyuu gave his son a careful, comforting squeeze on the uninjured shoulder. "I think you _would_ know if he was, Jenrya. Remember what I was saying last night?" Jenrya nodded slowly. "Good. Remember, take it slow. One thing at a time. We'll get through this. You push yourself too much sometimes."

"No, I don't," Jenrya said.

His father only raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Okay, fine, so maybe I do…a little. I still think I have a right to be worried, Dad."

"I never said you didn't."

Jenrya shook his head. "It's…it's really hard. I know there's so much we have to do, yet I look around us and…" he trailed off.

"That's where you have to sit down sometimes and trust others to help you," said his father, offering a tentative smile. "I'm not saying you should trust everyone to help you, but at least extend that trust to your close friends."

"Ryo's not my friend," Jenrya said automatically.

Janyuu blinked. "He's not?"

"No."

"Really?"

"No"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Janyuu folded his arms across his chest, quiet for a moment, watching his son closely. "He could be, you know."

"What?" said Jenrya intelligently. 

"I think you should give him a chance."

Baffled at this sudden change in topics, Jenrya stuttered for a bit before he found his voice again. "I-he…it's...I have…" he frowned, looking away. "It's…it's not that simple. He's hard to get along with, Dad; he's secretive, he's tactless, and he's rude at times. You can't just go up and make friends with someone like that."

"Yet he just essentially volunteered to look for Terriermon," Janyuu said casually. "And from what I heard, he ended up hurting himself to protect you a week ago. Broke a few fingers, sounds like."

Jenrya frowned. His Dad, as always, told it how it was, even if sometimes he resorted to the occasional guilt trip. It was true that while Ryo could act like a jerk sometimes – _most of the times_, Jenrya thought – there was also just as many times that he had been…well, "tolerable" was putting it a bit stiffly, but it was true.

"I'm not trying to force you to be friends but," said Janyuu quietly, "it's in times like these you have to find out just how far you can trust someone. A friend can come in all shapes and colors; Ryo seems to trust you, from what I've seen. You two seem to be inseparable, after all."

"Trust _me_? I've tried talking with him," Jenrya said impatiently. He remembered Ryo's scar, how the other boy had refused to talk about it, had brushed him off like the total stranger he must seem like. "It's like talking to a stubborn wall."

Janyuu fought off a grin. "And it's not like that with you sometimes?"

"_Dad_…" Jenrya sighed in exasperation. "It's not the same. He'll talk to me about Digimon, about certain things like this Council or whatever. He says a lot without saying anything at all…if that makes any sense."

His father took this in. "It sounds like you don't trust him to eventually tell you what you're asking."

"He won't," Jenrya muttered.

"He _will_," Janyuu said quietly. "If you let him. I know you expect people to be open almost immediately, but not everyone is like that. Sometimes you have to honestly give them space – and…well, I suppose wait it out. Wait without expecting; I don't think you give him enough credit. I'm sure he'll come around when he's good and ready."

"I guess," Jenrya said, staring down at his hands.

Ryo – to him – was one of many new, baffling things finding their way into his life. His dad was being a bit optimistic thinking they could close "friends", but Jenrya supposed he did have a point about having to wait. Jenrya was dying to know where Ryo had gotten those scars, for instance, but pressuring the brunette would get him nowhere. Jenrya had no idea why he was so concerned with finding out the "truth" about Ryo – where he got those old wounds probably had little relevance to their situation right now – and try as he might, he couldn't explain it away. It suddenly seemed important to know more about this boy, and not just things that had to do with Digimon…

Conversations with his father always got him thinking and this one was no exception. Jenrya had a lot to think about before Ryo returned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo couldn't breathe.

Sitting with Jenrya had been stifling, worry and doubt tangible in the very air of the other boy's presence, almost chokingly so. Whatever Ryo might have thought about the other boy and his reasonably sheltered life didn't change the fact he didn't like seeing Jenrya going through the same withdrawal, the same pain he himself remembered all too well. Maybe his situation could have been prevented. Maybe not. At the very least, he could stay up night after night and try to rationalize it, seek out reason after reason. But this? Entirely different. It wasn't the same at all, and for one of the few times in Ryo's recent life, he could say with utter conviction that it just wasn't _right_.

The least he could do was try to fix that.

Finding food wouldn't be very hard, Ryo decided, weaving in and out through the collection of tents and looking about him. One only had to keep his eyes open. Even Jenrya should be able scrounge up something, despite that messed up arm of his. A sardonic snort. First his broken fingers and now the Tamer's injury. _Perfect_, Ryo thought sarcastically. _Now we match._

The new day mirrored Ryo's dour mindset. Ash continued to rain down, blanketing the damp ground and street in a thin carpet that kicked up in small clouds as people hurried from one point to another. The fires still burned and he wondered how long they had before one forced this sad, shabby little cluster of survivors to abandon this place. Probably not long. Ryo found himself back at the base of the crippled apartment building they had – just barely – escaped from the other day, Shuichon skipping over rubble behind him. He didn't remember much of the actual details, just the fire escape screeching free as he did his best to protect Jenrya and then the interesting sensation of being hurled into the air like a rag doll, accompanied with the rather painful sensation of hitting the ground.

Even more fun was the fact that Ryo wasn't out cold for as long as he would've liked.

The brunette came to his senses minutes later only to find he'd a nice, lovely chunk of _something_ stuck in his head and was now bleeding all over the place. Getting up on shaky legs and trying to approach the nearest adult to ask if he was finally dead proved a disaster: catching sight of Ryo, the woman paled, dropped several shades past white, looked like she was about to scream or be sick (she chose the latter) and promptly ran away from him. At that point, Ryo threw mental hands in the air and sat down until someone got gutsy enough to pull the _something_ out of his head for him without running off.

He never did find out exactly what had been lodged in there.

_Terriermon must be around here_, Ryo scanned the area, black eyes narrowed. Yesterday had been pure chaos and he knew the odds of successfully finding the small Digimon at the time weren't good. They weren't much better now, but he knew for certain that Terriermon was alive, the behavior of Jenrya's D-Arc proof enough. The only issue was actually _finding_ him; looking back on the wild goose chase the other day, it looked like the Rookie was on the move. It was for this very reason that the search failed and they'd gotten caught: Terriermon's signal kept going all over the place.

This wasn't going to be easy.

Shuichon joined him, startling him by grabbing his hand. Ryo looked down.

"When's breakfast?" the little girl asked.

He paused. He had forgotten about that, too caught up in his own thoughts. "Soon," Ryo replied. He'd probably have to get her fed so she wouldn't start pouting again. Besides, he promised to keep an eye on her and that counted keeping her quiet and happy, he supposed.

"How soon?" Shuichon pressed insistently. "I'm really, really hungry…"

Ryo hesitated, at an utter loss. Kids were hardly in his realm of experience.

"Really soon," he said.

Wrong answer. Shuichon just continued to stare at him with the same expectant expression as before.

Seeing this, the brunette gave a heavy sigh. There really was no delaying it and they might as well get it over with. "…Let's go find something for you to eat."

Shuichon cheered at this and began tugging Ryo around the building. He followed reluctantly; he knew he should be out searching for Terriermon, not just babysitting Jenrya's kid sister.

Ryo wasn't good at this kind of thing. He never claimed to be. There wasn't much he could remember actually being _good_ at. Adequate, sure. Adequate he could do and do well. He supposed he was alright at foraging, scrounging, keeping warm and just basic survival in general, but after that, anything more intensive, and he found himself suddenly at a loss. Ryo's tracking abilities were decent, he admitted, but they weren't very useful out here. Not with all the ash getting kicked this way and that along with mud and rubble and hundreds of people panicking from side of the street to the other in a less than orderly fashion.

Children, however, were in an entirely different arena.

The two wandered about seemingly at random. Ryo had no idea where Shuichon was leading him; half of the time she would suddenly sidetrack, getting on her knees and poking about in the mud for shiny bits of glass and plastic. Her blanket-cape kept coming loose, and dragged behind her. Watching the little girl pocket yet _another_ grimy bottle cap after a careful inspection, he had to roll his eyes. Kids. Ryo never remembered collecting useless junk back when _he_ was a kid.

_Technically, you still _are_ a kid_, he thought dryly. _At least by Real World standards._

Great. Now he succeeded in making himself feel _old_.

"Okay, ready!" said Shuichon, oblivious to her guardian's impatience. She grabbed at Ryo's closest hand.

"Wait, not that - _ow_!"

Trying to bite down on the pain welling up from his injured fingers, Ryo carefully maneuvered Shuichon to his other hand. Despite the visit to the emergency room the other night, he was almost certain his fingers weren't setting the way the way they were supposed to. The boost he gave to Jenrya during the Garurumon thing probably didn't help and the squeeze from Jenrya's sister right now forced Ryo to close his eyes and count to three.

"Sorry," Shuichon apologized sheepishly. "Forgot."

"It's….it's okay," Ryo said between gritted teeth. He reminded himself that babysitting Jenrya's sister was necessary. "Look, why don't we just find you some breakfast first? Then you can look for your shiny stuff afterward."

Shuichon frowned. "But we _are_ looking for breakfast, Ryo," she said. "We're looking for breakfast and jewels at the same time."

"Glass and bottle caps aren't jewels."

"Are _too_!"

Ryo caught himself before he started arguing with a seven year-old. "Okay, fine. They're jewels. Let's…um…let's try a different game right now though," he said. He thought fast. "You like pretty things, right? Princess and ponies and all that?"

Shuichon nodded.

"Okay…uh, pretend we're on a quest for your kingdom. Jenrya and Mr. Lee are your…your royal court. They're waiting for you to bring back food – candy – for them," he said, cheeks burning red. Ryo felt incredibly stupid saying all this, but he couldn't have her holding him up like this with her constant junk collecting, "but you're the only one who has the magic powers to find the candy to bring back. They're _very_ hungry, so the faster you find and eat breakfast, the faster you can bring back the…uh…the magic candy back to them."

Ryo swore right then and there to never baby-sit again.

There were very few points in his life where he wanted to dig himself a hole to hide in, but this was one of those times. He hadn't felt this embarrassed in _years_.

Even so, Shuichon ate it all up.

"I'm a good princess," she said, giggling. "I know where the magic candy is!"

And with that, she led the way. Feeling ridiculously relieved that Jenrya hadn't been here to see him make an idiot of himself, Ryo followed her. At least now Shuichon wasn't stopping every few feet to go looking for pretty "jewels". She started some kind of story to go along with all this, but she was rambling more to herself than to him. She was so enthralled with her game of Make-Believe that he had to grab her by the sleeve before she tripped on her own blanket-cape. Sighing in resignation, he managed to get her cape tied around her shoulder and off the ground.

They rounded the corner, following a tilting fence. He didn't recognize any of the faces milling around, but that was to be expected. He wouldn't know anyone in around here. Someone had set up a kind of storage in what looked to be the remains of a large shed, lines of waiting people snaking away form it. Shuichon pointed at the line.

"There it is, Ryo," she said.

"This shouldn't take too long –"

"I don't wanna stand in line."

Ryo stared at the little girl in exasperation as he took a place at the back of the growing line. "I can't have you running off. Your dad expects me to keep an eye on you and I can't go looking for you."

"But it's _boring_ in line!" Shuichon pouted.

"Yeah, but…" Ryo trailed off, watching Shuichon warily. He had no idea if she was the type to start throwing temper tantrums at the drop of a pin and he had no wish to find out. "Look. You can go play only if you don't wander too far. Promise me you won't go where I can't see you."

"Promise!"

Shuichon ran off, giggling. Ryo shook his head, and decided he should just try to concentrate on the matters of food. Not only of getting the two of them fed, but there was also the issue of Jenrya, his dad and that Reika woman. He had no idea how to carry it all back, not unless it meant relying on his young companion, who seemed hardly reliable. Maybe he should have just gone by himself and looked for Terriermon alone. Then at least he wouldn't be getting constantly side-tracked. He glanced over in Shuichon's direction every now and then – the girl kept moving further and further back with her game of Make Believe in the rubble, but was still in sight.

At least the line wasn't too bad, he decided, which was surprising considering how long it was getting. He glanced behind him. The line wound around the leaning fencing and into the street now, people rubbing their hands together for warmth and chatting. Someone had found a cigarette somewhere and shared it with her line-neighbor. Ryo faced forward, shifting his weight carefully from one foot to the other.

He was almost nearing the front when he felt a quiet tug on his sleeve. He looked down.

"Um…Ryo?"

Ryo frowned; he didn't need to be a parent to know what that tone of voice meant. Something was wrong.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I found something," Shuichon said in a whisper. "You gotta come see!"

"Shuichon, if it's another rock, I can't. I'm practically in the front of the line now."

The little girl shook her head. "It's important!" she exclaimed. "You gotta come see _now_!"

Ryo glanced at the front of the line – there were only a dozen more people before it was his turn and he didn't even want to try to find the end of it. But people were already turning and staring at them and he knew he had no idea how to handle it if Shuichon decided to turn on the waterworks right here and now.

"…Okay, okay," he said. "Show me this important thing. Just make it quick."

Shuichon took off without him, running as fast as her little legs would take her. Ryo followed her over the rubble, quite sure he'd told her to play _in view_ – where they were going now couldn't be seen from the line – and wondering just how many side trips they'd be taking today. But he forgot all that as he caught up to Shuichon; the little girl was on her hands and knees, pointing at something across the path and near some bushes. He joined her, turning to look where she was staring.

A little boy was sitting down nestled in some blankets, playing with something. He couldn't have been over Shuichon's age, his hair a hazel mess sticking out in every direction imaginable. Ryo didn't see anything special about him and he started to say so when the boy suddenly turned, bringing into view the thing he was playing with.

_Terriermon!_

Ryo had to stop himself from charging out and just taking the Rookie back from the strange kid. If he did that, the kid would probably start screaming and crying, and sic the adults on him, and they would get nowhere. Nothing would be achieved. Forgetting completely about his lost place in line, he tried to figure out how he was going to get the Digimon back. He winced inwardly as he locked eyes with the trapped bunny-Digimon; Terriermon had an expression of pure annoyance, although he actually brightened at seeing Ryo.

"We need to get Terriermon away from that kid," Ryo said quietly. He glanced at the little girl beside him. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"Ask if he'll share?"

Ryo looked forward. He scowled. "And if he says no?"

"Give him some of my magic candy?"

The brunette closed his eyes in exasperation at this. There was no point in getting frustrated over the logic of a little kid. After all, it made perfect sense to her. They peered through the gap for several seconds before either of them spoke up again.

Shuichon didn't seem very worried. "Can I go play with him now?"

"What?" Ryo stared at her, astonished.

"Can I go play with him?"

"_Why_?"

"To get Terriermon back, silly," Shuichon replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're old, you don't know how."

Ryo felt his cheeks burning. Old? _Him_? Even by Digital World standards, he wasn't _that_ old! It wasn't like he was some insane age like twenty or something. He told himself it was stupid to get defensive, but even so, he couldn't help feeling a bit hurt at this.

"Fine. Just get him back," Ryo hissed.

Shuichon nodded and scrambled away from their hiding place. Although she was out of ear shot, he could see that her introduction was going well; the little boy looked happy to have another playmate, even if it was a strange girl. After a few minutes of talking with the boy, Shuichon came back.

"Well?"

"Takuya said he'll let me play with him. We're going to play King and Queen!"

"What about Terriermon?"

"He's the Princess," Shuichon giggled

Before Ryo could say anything, she hurried back. Ryo shook his head. He felt useless just sitting here in the shadows and letting a little kid do what he should be doing. But then again, Shuichon might be able to do what he couldn't. She could most certainly relate to other children better than he ever could, he supposed, unable to keep the old bitterness from rising.

It was frustrating, the more he thought about it. Not just this sitting around and doing nothing. The whole thing, this whole feeling that he wasn't like the others, wasn't normal. He hated it and a part of him envied others who didn't realize how lucky they were to have what he didn't. He knew this part of him was useless, wasn't productive, but he couldn't help it. The part of Ryo that actually still cared what happened to him wanted something impossible.

It wanted something he could never have.

Ryo rolled his eyes. He officially had too much time on his hands if he was going to start feeling sorry for himself all over again. He knew what was going to happen to him sooner or later. There was no stopping it. The only thing that was really up to question was when and how. And then there was the matter of figuring out if the effects of the Digital World were going to have any hand in speeding it up.

He wanted to deny it, of course. He was already a bit of misfit, considering how poorly he did in social situations. But there was no avoiding it: being in the Digital World for so long changed him. The two story jump with Tamayo, the unexplainable way he seemed to be able to sense digital fields, and now the fact he was still alive after getting _something_ stuck in his head just had to be proof. Ryo had stayed too long in that barren, red wasteland with its ribbons of glowing code. Even now the Digital World tried to claim him as its own, mocking him with false health.

Ryo didn't like it.

In fact, he hated it, nursed a silent loathing for it ever since he became aware of this disturbing notion.

As far as he knew, only a few humans had gone to the Digital World to date, and only he managed to return to Real one. No one knew just what could happen after prolonged exposure. No way of finding out from those already dead in both Worlds, at any rate. For all Ryo knew, his body would slowly keep changing until there was nothing left but digital code, incompatible with the Real World, fading away as if he'd been deleted. Not a choice death and one _he_ hadn't planned for. He didn't dare tell Jenrya or the others. At least not yet – he wasn't even sure yet. He didn't want their concern, their pity, and he certainly didn't want to die in front of them. If he was going to die, it'd be somewhere private and out of the way.

And then again, maybe it was nothing. It could just be harmless side-effects from the Digital World.

Ryo liked to be prepared for the worst, at any rate.

_This whole thing is ridiculous_, he thought. He was easily the oldest of these "Tamers" – he still wasn't sure if he technically counted or not – yet he was the most useless. Frankly, it was annoying. And it rankled.

A lot.

More than once he had toyed with the scenario of meeting his partner again. Maybe _he_ could still be tamed. Maybe Ryo could talk some sense into him. _In a million years, maybe_. It seemed like wishful thinking, but sometimes Ryo couldn't help himself. He supposed he could blame it on these new Digimon Tamers for injecting him with a measure of ridiculous optimism. Jenrya would probably tell him that somehow things would work out, that maybe there was a reason for his partner abandoning him. Ryo wanted to believe him, but it was hard. It was probably impossible for things as they were to finish on anything but a fatal note.

Yet despite the ugly scars on his body, this fantasy was still very appealing.

_It'll never happen_, Ryo told himself angrily. _He'll just snap your head off before you'd even get a word out. _

That was the truth of it, and he shoved all this to the back of his mind. He really should just focus on the here and now. His main problem right now was the issue of getting Terriermon back and watching Jenrya's sister. There wasn't much he could do aside from that at the moment.

Ryo could only hope that Shuichon had better people skills than he did, and could get Terriermon back without any problems.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This game's too confusing," Jenrya said.

Reika raised an eyebrow at him. "If you can play that Digimon card game, you can definitely play this."

Jenrya thought they were entirely two different things, but he focused on the cards instead. Reika had come back a few minutes ago with a deck of dog-eared playing cards, saying that it would help pass the time and would at least take their minds off their problems. She had played a few rounds of poker with Janyuu – who lost abysmally several times in a row – before offering to teach Jenrya. So far, he wasn't faring much better than his dad.

"I don't get how you grown-ups can play that game," said Jenrya after the fifth loss. "The Digimon card game is easier."

Reika chuckled. "You'll get the hang of it. Good thing we weren't playing for money, I think you and you father would've made me rich. Feel up for another round?"

"I'll just watch," Jenrya said.

He settled back as Janyuu took his place in front of Reika. It had been almost two hours since Ryo left and he told himself not to start getting worried or antsy. His father lost three more times and won his first game. Reika was shuffling the cards when there was a shout:

"Hey!"

The three looked up at the shout.

Ryo was walking toward them, picking his way around tents as he came into view. For a moment, he bent down, whispered something to Shuichon – still out of sight – and stepped aside to let the little girl pass. Jenrya felt whatever boredom at watching the poker games suddenly vanish as he caught sight of what his sister was holding. Completely forgetting everything, he bolted out of the tent, stumbling a little on the uneven footing until he reached Shuichon and a beaming, tired Terriermon.

"I hate to say it, but for once I'm glad I was in Shuichon's little princess games," Terriermon said flippantly.

Jenrya looked from Terriermon to his sister. "How…?"

"That's what I'm still wondering," Ryo said as he joined them. He had several plastic bags looped on his good wrist. "I don't know how she did it, but she got him back. All I know is this little kid called Takuya might be coming by a lot to go play with her – I'm thinking that he probably gave up Terriermon because she promised to play more games with him later."

"I think I owe Shuichon one," Terriermon ducked his head. He had a few scratches and bruises here and there, but looked to be in better shape than his Tamer.

Jenrya met Shuichon's and Ryo's in turn. His words, when they came, were quiet. "Thank you so much. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you."

"Eh…don't worry about it," Ryo said gruffly.

"I…I'm sorry," Jenrya blurted.

Ryo blinked, clearly startled, and then ducked his head. "Sorry 'bout what I said the other day," he mumbled awkwardly.

He paused, and, catching some kind of unspoken hint, he rustled the bags of food.

"Shuichon, why don't we bring these to your dad?"

"Okay!"

Ryo gave Jenrya and Terriermon a pointed look, raised an eyebrow and then walked away, leaving the two to themselves and their reunion. Jenrya held his partner as best he could in his arms, trying to find something to say. He was surprised to find he wasn't crying with relief; he felt…completed, as if he had nearly lost something he took for granted. Fixing a relieved smile on his face, he broke the comfortable silence.

"I…I'm really glad you're okay," Jenrya said at length. "I was starting to get worried."

Terriermon gave a nervous laugh, trying not to stare at his partner's black eye. "Well, the worst that happened was I got stuck with this weird little kid and – "

"Terriermon, I'm being serious here."

The Rookie hesitated, looking up at his partner, button nose twitching. Jenrya stared down at the bunny-Digimon, rather surprised to find his voice was more or less steady. Terriermon sighed, and for one of the rare times in their time together, he dropped the joking act and stopped trying to play it off as less serious than it really was.

"I was worried too, Jenrya," Terriermon said. "It felt weird…_wrong_ when you weren't around me. I saw all these hurt people and….and…"

Jenrya was astonished to see his partner's eyes start to glisten with the beginning of tears. He hadn't ever seen the Digimon cry before and a wave of anger and protectiveness washed over him as he saw the first tear trickle its way slowly down Terriermon's furred cheek. He fiercely hugged the little Digimon to his chest as Terriermon sniffled.

"I was afraid, Jenrya. I-I felt like I was alone – like in the Digital World – and I _hated_ it. Like…sometimes it was hard not to think of what might happen if I didn't find you…if something might happen at a time when I couldn't protect you like I should…"

The Tamer closed his eyes upon hearing this, feeling tired and drained. It had seemed like so long ago when their biggest problem was just hiding Terriermon's presence from his family. Now they were already discussing what would happen if one or the other died.

It was like a slap in the face.

"We don't need to worry about that," Jenrya said. "We're together again, and that's what matters, right?"

"Yeah, but…"

"I'm not going anywhere," Jenrya said with more conviction than he felt at the moment. "There won't ever be a time where we can't protect each other."

Terriermon stared up at his partner and knew right away that he was lying out his teeth. But the Rookie only nodded, trying to cheer up, rubbing with his stubby paws at the rare tears, and gave an embarrassed, shaky laugh.

"Don't go thinking I'm a cry-baby," he said. "This's a one-time thing."

Jenrya smiled. "I'd never think that. And no, I won't tell anyone."

"Read my mind," Terriermon muttered, suppressing a sniff.

"Let's just focus on what's ahead," Jenrya said gently. "I'm okay and so are you. It'll…it'll work out."

"…I hope so," Terriermon sighed and then brightened. He was already recovering quickly, reverting back to his old optimism. "You guys got anything to eat? I'm _starving_!"

The half-Chinese Tamer laughed despite himself. It felt good to laugh, but it was sad even so. There were so many things they had to do, so much time lost. But he could at the very least get his partner fed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was overcast the day they finally got organized enough to start moving.

Jenrya gathered around with the others as Yasuo clambered up onto the ruined fire-escape to make an announcement. Suma stood nearby and hollered at those still asleep to wake up, Jiro at her side looking perfectly miserable. By now the demand for the nurse had diminished, which meant that Janyuu had finally gotten a chance to ask her about his son's arm. It was probably dislocated, she said, and the best she could do until they got to the emergency room was put it in a sling. That was better than before, Jenrya supposed, although Shuichon had demanded that she be allowed to draw on it. Thankfully Takuya showing up to play had distracted her and his sling remained mercifully intact.

"So how's the arm?" Ryo asked, joining him and Terriermon

Jenrya glanced down at the sling – it was little more than a shredded sheet. "Okay, I guess. What about your…uh, head?"

"What, this?" Ryo flippantly pointed at the bandage wrapped around his forehead. "I don't know, haven't had a chance to check it out. Hope it's not infected or anything." He didn't sound particularly worried.

The blue-haired Tamer frowned, but anything he had to say would have to wait as Yasuo waved again at the crowd.

"Hello! May I have everyone's attention, _please_!" Yasuo shouted over the rumble of conversation.

"_That means everyone_!" Suma bellowed between cupped hands. She beckoned to the stragglers. "Everyone with this apartment complex, please come over here, thanks!"

"Thank you, Suma," Yasuo said. He turned toward the hundreds of eyes on him. "As I said at the last meeting, it probably isn't safe to stay here longer than we need to. So far we haven't had any help from the fire department or the police – it's likely that they're too busy trying to put out the fires or helping the worst hit places to deal with us. So we have two main choices: we head for a public place like a school or we try to find the nearest hospital for the injured."

"I have friends in Ueno!" someone shouted. "I want to know if they're okay!"

"Me too!"

"Yes, yes, we know," Yasuo said quickly before anyone else could start chiming in. "Of course if anyone wants to go on their own, no one's stopping them. But for the rest of us, we should probably decide which of the two choices we want to take. I'll be taking a group to the nearest school. Once there, we'll probably try to move on deeper and find more survivors, hopefully real help. Suma and Jiro here will leading the group to the hospital or ER or whatever it is they can find."

Tadako's hand shot up, waving furiously in the air as if she was in school

Yasuo fixed her with an annoyed stare.

"What is it?"

"Um…what about the…" Tadako trailed off, tilting her chin toward one of the still forms under the sheets. "We can't just leave them lying around."

Yasuo looked uncomfortable. "We can't bring them with us."

"But…"

"I'm sorry, but we have to look at this realistically. We'll have our hands full with food and other supplies as it is – I know it doesn't feel right, but there's nothing we can do until we get some help."

This brought disgruntled, troubled murmurs from the crowd gathered. Expressions darkened, scowled deepened, several eyes watered with new, unbidden tears. Many avoided looking at Tadako.

"Maybe some people can stay behind and…and look after them," Tadako said insistently. "We can't just leave them!"

"If anyone wants to stay, again, I'm not forcing them. But unless you find a place to bury them, it's not going to be pleasant here in a few days," Yasuo said. "We were lucky so far that we had so much snow and rain to keep it from getting nasty, but since the snow's stopped…"

Tadako blanched as she realized just what he was talking about. She suddenly found nothing to say and she stared down at the ground, looking like she wanted to cry in frustration.

"He's right, though," Ryo murmured into Jenrya's ear. "We'd be better off just focusing on saving what we can than protecting something gone."

"But we could have been _them_," Jenrya said softly, eyes traveling to the bodies under the sheets dotting the area. It hadn't taken him long to realize just what had been under there and even now he could feel horror and sadness worming its way through him, especially when he remembered how he'd been found after the earthquakes.

"I'd think that if we _were_ dead, none of us would be any position to care," Ryo replied. "And anyway, we aren't."

"Are you always this depressing?" Terriermon whispered. "Seriously."

Ryo rolled his eyes at this.

"Ha ha, you're a real comedian," he said. But he didn't press the matter. He dropped it as the crowd began to split into disorganized groups that milled around Suma and Yasuo.

It was a good hour before everyone was ready. Janyuu shouldered the duffle bag he'd taken back from Yasuo, giving it an experimental tug and making sure it wouldn't be in any danger of sliding off. It was still quite early in the morning, and their breaths came out in little white puffs in the air. Jenrya couldn't help a shiver. Despite the heavy jacket draped over his shoulders, he could feel the cold seeping through. It was an improvement over yesterday – it had been _freezing_ for some reason – but still, it'd been a long time since he had felt weather like this.

Terriermon nestled in the crook of his good arm as Janyuu gathered their little group together. He quickly did a head count and nodded.

"Good, we're all here," he said. "Reika, have you had any luck contacting that friend of yours in Hypnos?"

Reika shook her head. Of the group, she and Janyuu were the only ones with working cell phones. She had tried Kei's number, hoping maybe, just maybe Kei could drive down here, but for some reason her phone was still giving her the busy signal. Yamaki's own number had rang and rang and rang without any answer…

"Guess we're still on our own," Janyuu muttered. He clapped his hands together with forced enthusiasm. "Okay, here's the plan. We're going with the group looking for the nearest hospital. If we're going in the direction I think we are, we should probably be able to check up on the Matsudas. After we get them and get to the hospital, we'll try to meet up with the Makinos. Hopefully by then things will have settled down enough that we can have room to breathe and figure out where to go from there."

Jenrya thought it was a shaky plan, but then again, at least it _was_ a plan. Better than nothing. It wasn't like before, he told himself. Terriermon was back with him, and while they were for the moment homeless with everyone else here, he figured that there were _some_ improvements over the last two days.

He willed himself not to think of Takato or the D-Reaper or Hypnos or any of the other millions of questions he had for now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

His new diet made him sleepy.

In fact, he had been sleeping more than he was used to, Black Growlmon reflected, delicately licking the last bit of blood off his claws, his serpentine tongue flicking in and out. He supposed that bakery bread only went so far and maybe he just wasn't used to having an actually full stomach. It felt rather nice, but at the same time made him feel very heavy, very lazy and very, very sleepy. In fact, he surprised himself by dozing off for days instead of hours, his mind in such a comfortable stupor from so much heavy food that it was almost possible to forget the buzzing bees rattling in his skull.

It had been days since he'd heard Takato's voice. Black Growlmon was getting very worried now, but he decided to stick to his plan, which essentially boiled down to "don't panic" and "don't get yourself caught".

For the past couple of days – when he wasn't sleeping off the food – he had been slowly, but steadily tracking Takato's so-called "friends". It had been hard work, for rain and snow and ash tainted the air and made it difficult to pick out the old scents. Still, he was determined to carry out the plan and while he was still quite full from his last meal, he could always make room for more if he did happen to come upon Jenrya and Terriermon.

His vision clouded red with rage, as it always did whenever he thought about those two. He hated Ruki and Renamon too, but at least they didn't even pretend to be best friends with his Tamer, not like Jenrya and his partner did.

Black Growlmon was going to look forward to their next reunion even so.

The Shadow glanced around, golden eyes flicking this way and that. He had dragged what remained of the last kill into an alley and it occurred to him now that while it was indeed suitably dark and sheltered, it was a poor choice looking back at it. The tangy, pungent smell of trash assaulted his sensitive nose and he grimaced, baring foot-long fangs in distaste. Despite how sleepy he felt, he doubted he could bear sleeping in this filth. He hadn't sunk _that_ low yet.

Grunting with the effort it seemed to move his body, he stepped over the remains of his dinner and pushed himself out of the alley. It was a bit of a squeeze. Black Growlmon stepped into the street, scanning the area. He guessed that he was still a mile or so off from where he thought Jenrya's house was; he had only been there a few times with Takato before the…before the changes, but he was sure he could find it. The thought caused a shiver of pleasure to run up his spine as he imagined hunting them.

Maybe he would give them a head start once he found them, just to be sporting.

Snorting, Black Growlmon started down the side road, his thick tail stiff behind him, thick white mane rippling in the small breeze. He bent low every couple of minutes, large snout almost touching the ground as he sniffed about, making soft _whuffling_ sounds. The scent was very faint and he spent the better part of the next three hours trying to pinpoint and follow it.

He paused, head jerking up as he heard the familiar sound of a fire truck heading his way; it wasn't in sight yet, but the wailing siren was coming closer. While he would have loved to take the truck down, he was already full, so he supposed the humans lucked out this time. Even so, there was no point in broadcasting his presence when he was closing in on Jenrya and Terriermon. No knowing who they might have on their side spying for them.

Black Growlmon took off down the side street, reptilian head bent low as he rounded a corner and headed toward an abandoned garage he spotted, hearing the sirens come even closer. He shoved himself inside.

Settling down on his powerful haunches to wait in the shadows, Black Growlmon's acid-yellow eyes narrowed to gleaming slits as he intently listened to the sounds of the fire truck. He hated traveling in daylight for precisely this reason. Humans didn't have the sense to be properly nocturnal, which meant that if he wanted to eat without tearing down houses and drawing attention, he would have to ambush his prey during daylight hours. It was risky business. While he was utterly sure he could take care of a few humans, he wasn't so sure he could do the same if they came in full strength and started trying to overwhelm him in sheer numbers.

Black Growlmon sighed. It was all very depressing once one looked at the big picture. While he didn't doubt his own strength, he knew that the reality was it wasn't limitless, at least not by himself. Maybe if Takato was with him…but the fact was, he didn't know where Takato was or what had happened to silence him. So while it was indeed very irritating, he would have to play it safe and lay low. That was the smart thing to do. Smart, but infuriating all the same.

He curled up in the darkness of the surprisingly roomy garage, feeling drowsy once more. The Champion had backed himself into some cardboard boxes and shuffling them around a bit, he managed to block up the front so that he wouldn't be visible from outside. Black Growlmon rested his head on his claws. He would take a quick nap, and wait for night.

Just a quick nap, he told himself, feeling his lunch settling comfortably.

Before he knew it, Black Growlmon was dozing off, one part of him as always alert. One gleaming eye remained open even as he drifted off. It continued to slowly scan the area lazily, the black slit-pupil dilated in the darkness as it swept back and forth.

Even asleep with one eye open, he started to dream. He rarely did and when he did, he rarely remembered. There was always a vague sense of home, of comfort, of love which seemed far away and distant. That much he could recall. Sometimes it seemed like fragments of images danced just out of his grasp, but whenever he woke up, starving yet again, he could remember nothing.

This evening was different. For some reason Black Growlmon dreamt of machines, of computers, of countless numbers of binary code. He dreamt of Takato and Takato wasn't far away and voiceless this time. He was very much in the flesh. They were standing together in a bakery – Takato's old bakery – and Takato wasn't cold and abrupt like before.

For the first time in a long time, Takato talked to him as a _friend_, not as a weapon or a tool.

Black Growlmon gave a happy grunt and shifted over in his sleep.

**  
**

**  
To be continued**  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Still have a while to go, hopefully I'll have the next chapter out faster than before Haven't had as much free time as I would've wished. Once again, if you want to see the Proper Indented Version of this fanfic, IM or e-mail me.

A few new brainstorm boredom-doodles: once again, remove the spaces and you're all set.

http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 21466115/ (Juggernaut-Jenrya in color)

http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 16166369/ (Juggernaut with spikes)

http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 16166521/ (Final Evolution - Juggernaut winged)

http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 17266548/ (Alice)

http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 17266579/ (Ryo)

http/ www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 17465640/ (Jenrya)

http/ img . photobucket. com/ albums/ v305/ Famira/ ryopj. jpg (Ryo in his pajamas from a few chapters back)

http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 17266623/ (Juggernaut wreath)

Thanks for reading.

- Famira Damaris

_Official Quote of the Day_

_"An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind." - Buddha  
_


	25. Rebooting up Systems

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Another long delay - sorry, work and school swamped me. Mostly Takato/BlackGrowlmon/Juggernaut focused.

Reviews are _very _much appreciated, but they don't determine how long I take on chapters.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similar to telepathy

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Rebooting up Systems)

_Takato liked dreaming. _

_Well, he didn't like the fact he _knew _he was dreaming. Still, they were nice dreams, for the most part…even if his current one was already a dream within a dream. He knew this because Jenrya wasn't here; the white room wasn't here either. So that either meant he was _awake – _yeah right – or that this was just another dream, another lapse. Either way, Takato was determined to enjoy this rare moment of peace and quiet while he could. There were no thousand and one voices, no thousand and one eyes. Just his own eyes, his own single consciousness. _

_Just himself._

For now, Takato was in complete control. 

_In this dream, he was showing Guilmon around the bakery. Takato didn't remember much about the quaint little bakery, only that it existed, and was very special to the two of them for some reason or another. He couldn't remember what the owners looked like either, but he supposed he would remember later. What they looked like probably wasn't too important to the dream-within-a-dream anyway, he thought. Maybe they weren't worth remembering. Maybe he'd forgotten for a reason. _

_Of course Takato remembered very well what Guilmon looked like. His partner had the most beautiful hide of black scales in the entire world, like tiny shards of obsidian or onyx imbedded over powerful muscles. Takato hadn't actually ever seen onyx with his own eyes, but Jenrya had shown it to him with his borrowed-eyes and borrowed-memories. That was even better than actually seeing them._

_Guilmon's acid-yellow eyes fixed on the oven the Tamer was holding open. _

"_Oven?" Guilmon asked. _

"_Oven," Takato agreed. He nodded at the open door. "You've got to have one of these to make bread, Guilmon. I can teach you how, y'know. But if we're going to bake together, you have to have your hands clean."_

_Guilmon looked down at his claws. They were splattered with something that glistened moist and red in the light. Guilmon carefully licked them clean before holding them out to his Tamer. _

"_Sorry," Guilmon mumbled. His dark hide deepened to pitch black in his version of a blush. _

"_Don't worry about it," said Takato. "Come on; let's start with the baking lessons."_

_Takato gave him the dough that materialized from nowhere in particular and began showing his partner how to shape it. At first he cupped his partner's claws with his own hands, patting the dough together until Guilmon had it down and could do it on his own without the help. Very soon they had a trio of lumpy dough mounds ready on a tray and waiting._

"_We have Guilmon Bread, Takato Bread and Jenrya Bread," Guilmon said happily. He paused, noticing that Takato had extra dough still left. "What's that one called, Takato?"_

_The brunette looked down in surprise at the excess dough. Takato thought he had measured the ingredients out perfectly, so there shouldn't even be anything left, especially not this much. But he wasn't Jenrya, so he had apparently calculated wrong. He leaned over the counter, puzzled. The extra dough looked misshapen, but it reminded him almost of Jenrya…except this version didn't have the right black candy eyes waiting on the counter. It was downright ugly and it made him uneasy. If Jenrya saw this…this _thing_, he'd surely get angry. _

"_It's just a mistake," Takato said. He hurriedly squashed it into a shapeless mush. _

_Guilmon tilted his head, snout wrinkling in reproach. "If it's a mistake, then why didn't you destroy it earlier?"_

"…_I-I don't know."_

"_You didn't want to?" Guilmon asked. He sounded confused. "Maybe you should tell Jenrya."_

_Takato shook his head. "Let's just go back to the baking lesson," he said instead._

"_What about Jenrya..?"_

"_Jenrya doesn't have to know."_

_His partner went thoughtfully silent at this but said nothing. They loaded the tray into the large oven as Takato showed Guilmon how to set the timer. It wasn't long before they were finished. All they had to do now was wait, which had never been one of the easy parts – yet these days he found himself more and more patient, as if he had all the time in the world. Takato turned to Guilmon, who was staring intently at the oven. Looking at the dark Rookie, alone in the cramped little bakery, he suddenly felt a flash of sadness. He looked at his partner and he saw for a brief second that only death and oblivion was projected for both of their futures._

_Takato suddenly reached out and gave Guilmon a great big hug._

"_What's wrong?" Guilmon asked, surprised, the surprise immediately turning into alarm. "What's wrong? Why're you crying?"_

"_I'm not crying," Takato said, dashing away the tears before they could fall. "I…I just want what's best for all of us. We'll always be friends, right? No matter what?"_

_Guilmon awkwardly patted his Tamer's back, careful not to scratch him with razor-sharp claws. His Tamer had no smell these days and sometimes the only way he could tell Takato was even alive was to touch him. Guilmon knew he himself didn't smell very good these days. He smelled like fire and brimstone and that strange metallic copper smell that came from his latest meals. Luckily Takato couldn't smell very well anymore, although he could see better than ever. So he probably knew about Guilmon's change of diet, although he hadn't confronted him about it yet._

"_Why would you even ask that?" Guilmon whispered. "Where you go, I'll follow. You know I live for you. We're _partners_."_

_Takato closed his eyes as if tired. "…Thank you, Guilmon."_

"_I won't ever betray you," Guilmon said with resolution. He brightened. "And I'll kill anyone who has or will."_

_The Tamer wasn't sure if that was going to be necessary and he said just that._

"_Just in case, Takato," Guilmon replied cheerfully, offering a toothy, fang-filled grin. "Can't hurt to be prepared." _

_The dream skipped a bit here, freezing up. It looked like this dream wasn't too sturdy, and the next thing Takato knew, it had skipped forward – or back – to his school. Guilmon had since grown in size, having evolved some time between then and now. Takato had to crane his head up to look at his partner: he had to be at least fifteen feet tall, rippling with muscles underneath the glimmering black hide. Foreboding spikes protruded above golden eyes, a fluffy silver mane running down his back. Takato had to half jog to keep up with his partner's long strides. _

" – if only we could do more_," Black Growlmon was saying. _

"_Do more what?" Takato asked without thinking. _

_Black Growlmon shot a mildly surprised look at his Tamer. "Why, do more about our enemies; I say we shouldn't be slaves to this Council… whatever rubbish they're feeding us is clearly leaving us open to attack. We should just take control ourselves."_

"But…but – that is – you…" Takato sputtered a bit, feeling almost outraged. "Are you saying Jenrya's doing all this wrong_?"_

"_No!" said Black Growlmon hurriedly, glancing about as if afraid Jenrya would come walking in on them at any moment. "Of course not. I wouldn't dare dream of it."_

_They reached the inner courtyard of Takato's school. Black Growlmon took to prowling in the shadows cast by the still trees, clearly agitated and nervous, tail swishing stiffly behind him. Takato crossed his arms, watching his partner. _

"_Maybe we could talk to Jenrya about this," Black Growlmon mused, thinking out loud. "Maybe we can convince him."_

_Takato frowned. Guilmon in the earlier dream had seemed so downright loyal, yet Black Growlmon right here and now was speaking of things that were bordering on blasphemous. But even so, they were friends and partners, Takato told himself sternly. Whatever they discussed would stay between only the two of them, no matter how strange or wrong it might seem. Takato was surprised when he found himself thinking he wouldn't recount this to Jenrya, even if he asked and threatened. Black Growlmon's rebelliousness must be rubbing off on him._

"…_I don't know," said Takato after watching his partner pace back and forth for a few minutes. "Jenrya seems to think we have to follow his Creator's orders. I'm not sure they can be disobeyed."_

"I don't see why they can't," Black Growlmon rumbled. "What's the incentive for us to follow them though? You and me?"

"_Well," said Takato slowly, "if Jenrya follows them, I have to follow him. He's my friend too, you know."_

"_Like I'm blind," Black Growlmon muttered with more than a little jealousy. "Where is he anyway?"_

_The Tamer looked around. This was indeed strange – usually Jenrya wouldn't leave Takato alone unless he was very busy and the last thing Takato remembered before the dreams started was that Jenrya had been absolutely _livid _at him last time. He _should _be here, keeping an eye on him. And usually even if Jenrya wasn't actually with him, Takato had always been able to feel eyes on him, watching him and his thoughts. Yet now, looking around and probing, he felt nothing. It was like Jenrya had vanished off somewhere. Takato was baffled._

"_I don't know," Takato said. "I really don't know."_

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It was several days before the emergency systems of the Juggernaut began to truly kick in. It had sustained severe damage to several important lines – before the earthquakes, they had been used to leech off electricity from a major power plant miles away, but now they were crushed, and therefore useless to the super-computer. Others weren't responding because they had been controlled by the higher functions, still currently offline. As it was, the only thing keeping the Juggernaut running was through the sheer force of its Will.

While that was fortunate considering the circumstances, it was also dangerous – even the Juggernaut's lowest functions sensed this. It doubled its efforts to repair itself.

The Will couldn't – mustn't – be allowed this kind of freedom.

Not now. Not ever.

Given too much time to himself, he might start relearning independence – one of the many dangerous traits of organic life forms, even inferior as they were to the Juggernaut. While they could be easily trained and turned sufficiently docile, they could still be unpredictable, and at times they were far too flexible for their own good. Dangerous, indeed. But survival required calculated risks and until some of the higher security functions were rebooted, the Will would have to be allowed to have reign.

For now.

But precautions would have to be set so this incident would not repeat itself…

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_Today was one of those days where it was absolutely _still

_Takato lay on his back in the warm grass of Shinjuku Park, arms behind his head, basking in the sun shining down through the gaps in the foliage. It occurred to him that he should be someplace; it took a long time before he managed to recall just where, dragging up "school" from vague memories. If he thought about it hard enough, he could almost start remembering other things, faces of teachers, memories of homework, of friends. It made his head ache though, and soon he had to give up as white stars started bursting in his vision; waiting for them to clear, he glanced over to his left._

_Next to him, Black Growlmon made a snuffling nose, gnawing on something that Takato strongly suspected was probably a bone. He didn't ask where it came from – a part of him already knew – and he wished his partner would just throw it away. It made him queasy just watching the Shadow…somehow seeing him do what Jenrya did wasn't the same. It wasn't as clean and unlike Jenrya, Black Growlmon honestly seemed to _enjoy _the killing. It was almost like a game to him._

_Takato felt a sense of disquiet rising up within him. _

_Something about this just wasn't right. Not the eating thing – he had never known how his partner has survived only on bread before anyway – but the pleasure in hurting others. Takato was fairly sure that he hadn't ever taught Black Growlmon that it was okay to cause pain just for the sake of pain. It didn't feel right and gave him a weird, uncomfortable feeling, deep down in the pit of his stomach. The Tamer tried to imagine Jenrya's voice. His friend would probably say it was inefficient and needless, as it was really just a waste of energy being expended when there were other food sources that could be more easily obtained. Yet somehow that wasn't altogether very reassuring. _

_It almost made Takato sick thinking about this._

"_Black Growlmon," said Takato quietly, "do you have to do that right now?"_

_The Champion looked up. "Dowha?" he asked around the bone, voice muffled. _

"_That."_

"_Sorry," Black Growlmon grunted. He crushed the bone in his powerful jaws with a last bite, red-tinged splinters littering the grass at his claws. The large dinosaur-Digimon stared at his Tamer. "You're upset."_

_Takato frowned, gazing up at the still clouds frozen in the brilliant blue sky. "I've been thinking…well, trying to," he corrected himself. "I keep getting the feeling that things have changed. Like…like something's not right."_

"_I don't follow," Black Growlmon said, his golden eyes blinking lazily as he gazed at Takato. "I'm here, you're here, and Jenrya's here. It's as it should be."_

"_Yes, but…" Takato tried to decide how he wanted to put it. His partner would be behind him regardless of what he said or did, but how to put it in a way he would understand? "It's not that simple. At least, I don't think it is. It feels almost as if there's...well, there's more to it. To all of this," he made a vague wave around him at the park, the sky, Shinjuku._

_Black Growlmon paused at this, reptilian eyes narrowed as he tried to recall a time different than this. He made an irritable hissing noise through his fangs, displeasure radiating out from him. _

"_Hurts to think about it, Takato," said Black Growlmon with the hint of an annoyed snarl. _

_Takato pushed himself up on his elbows, gazing at his partner. "I know it does, but you have to _think_."_

_The huge Champion squirmed visibly but obeyed his Tamer. His acid-yellow eyes clamped shut, fangs grinding together against one another as he tried to focus on one of the memories that seemed to have faded almost to oblivion. Birds twittered overhead in the branches above the two, oblivious to them. Angry smoke was starting to curl dangerously from Black Growlmon's jaws after a few minutes of focused thinking, his tail twitching in agitation._

"_I'm not sure," said Black Growlmon after what felt like ages. "These…memories, they're just fragments. Nothing important."_

"_I guess…" Takato sighed. _

"_Hey, Jenrya's finally here," Black Growlmon said suddenly. He didn't sound as pleased as he should, although he fixed a forced, fang-filled smile on his face, getting to his feet and towering over his Tamer._

_Takato did the same and turned. Jenrya was striding toward them from under the shade cast by the line of trees below their small hill, heading toward them. Takato wondered if he should voice his concerns. The other boy exited into the warm sunlight, wearing once again the dark clothing that seemed very familiar to Takato for some reason; he was moving very purposefully and even from here, Takato could feel him immediately sending out the mental probes, seeking to read his mind as if it were a book, as he always did. _

_Only…_

_It didn't work._

_Jenrya was too far away for Takato to hear him, but Takato could see the normally emotionless face suddenly turn confused, and then darken into something that looked like the doctored expression of fury he remembered only days before. Takato quailed. Great. He had succeeded in angering his friend without even trying this time. He could feel Jenrya trying again and again relentlessly with the probes, but they simply bounced off, as if Takato was surrounded by some kind of brick wall. He got to his feet as Jenrya practically stormed up the hill._

"**We are not fully rebooted and already you are displaying disobedience once more!**" _Jenrya said the moment he was within hearing distance. "_**The higher programming functions will of course be notified**_."_

_Takato opened his mouth to apologize, as was expected, and to beg, as was also expected._

_But even he looked surprised when instead he blurted: "You're not Jenrya?"_

_Jenrya came very close to doing a double-take at this – unable to update the databanks by probing into Takato, he was currently running on the next most recent files. Apparently whatever happened in the meantime had introduced some changes and Takato could practically see his friend working furiously to update them even as his alien eyes narrowed slightly. If there was anything Takato knew his friend hated more, it was being surprised with the unexpected._

"**No. I am not the one you refer to commonly as 'Jenrya', Takato Matsuda. I am merely one of the base survival programs the X6166 JUGGERNAUT initiated once you – the companion system – was introduced into it**_."_

_Black Growlmon watched the exchange with interest, more than willing to just sit, watch and (for now) be ignored. Jenrya paced before them, shooting a look at Takato that told him he better sit down as well, and the young boy hurriedly seated himself on the sun-dappled grass as Jenrya continued to speak:_

"**I will supervise you until the main systems are brought back online**_," Jenrya said coolly. "_**You will initiate no contact – electrical or physical. You will initiate no locomotive or aggressive attack functions in the mean time either. You will do _nothing_, Takato Matsuda**_."_

This made Black Growlmon bristle – the very opposite answer he had been hoping to hear from Jenrya - but he wisely kept his mouth and thoughts shut as best he could. Jenrya might not be able to get into his Tamer's mind as easily as he was used to, but that didn't mean that his Digimon partner had the same mysterious protections. Jenrya didn't even look at Black Growlmon, instead turning to stare at Takato as if he had never seen him before. Takato could feel the invisible probing tendrils trying yet again to invade; instead of reaching out forcefully, they danced delicately, testing gently, looking for weak spaces in the barrier that shouldn't have even existed.

_So far, Jenrya made little success._

_And, for the first time in weeks, Takato realized that he could think whatever he wanted._

_Yet he hesitated; he didn't know what to do with such power. _

_And, being human, he froze._

"**I have performed a rudimentary lockdown around you**_," Jenrya was saying now, matter-of-factly. "_**You will be confined to this standby state until the restart has completed in approximately forty-eight hours. I am unable to account for how you managed to create your own security measures, but it is highly likely that this was due to your inherently human nature that was perhaps not accounted for. Your species have human failings, and perhaps hidden strengths, and thus are unpredictable to a degree. If you are unable to or unwilling to remove this security measure once we have become fully operational once more, than it will have to be removed by force**_."_

That _got Black Growlmon's attention._

"_Are you threatening my Tamer?" he rumbled, white flames licking dangerously around his jaws, and for the first time since he had arrived, Jenrya looked directly at him. _

"**Threatening**_?" Jenrya tilted his head curiously. "_**Merely stating a fact; threats are, of course, no use to me**_."_

"_I…I don't know how I did it," Takato said, choosing his words carefully. "I swear I don't."_

_Jenrya resumed pacing on the grass, as if he was simply there to brief Takato and nothing more. Black Growlmon was starting to look at the blue-haired boy with dislike that became more and more apparent on his draconian face, try as he might to conceal it. Takato shot a warning look at Black Growlmon – Black Growlmon was loyal foremost to his Tamer and he didn't want him getting in huge trouble with Jenrya if he started trying to fight him. Takato knew first-hand just what Jenrya was capable of and frankly, it terrified him to think of that kind of power being turned on his partner. For once he was glad that Jenrya couldn't read his mind right now._

_Because if he could, Jenrya could and would use his fears against him. It was only the smart thing to do and Jenrya was exceedingly smart, no matter what form he came in._

_He was most certainly smart enough to lie._

_Strange feelings were starting to arise in Takato, unfamiliar and foreign emotions that he hadn't felt in what seemed like decades began struggling. Hurt. Doubt. Concern. And always, fear. It was the old fear he felt around Jenrya – even if this one wasn't the full version of Jenrya, he could still feel it uncurling under the surface. Takato told himself that the full-version of Jenrya was different, wouldn't dare lie or make veiled threats, but the more he thought about it – stars began to blossom madly in his eyes in response – the more he realized he truly didn't know _anything_. He had all the knowledge in the world because of Jenrya and yet he knew absolutely _nothing

"– **regardless**_," Jenrya was saying, "_**it cannot be permitted to happen again, intentional or not. Recent data tells me that you made unauthorized contact with one of our high-priority targets…"**

_Takato felt his cheeks burning with shame – he remembered very well that incident and he felt even further shame as the same flutters of curious obsession rose within him at the memory of that other false-Jenrya, the one who didn't have the alien eyes. Black Growlmon was looking at him in open bewilderment, clearly wondering what Jenrya was talking about, as Jenrya continued:_

"…**and that matter is already scheduled to be reviewed for the proper punishment procedures. An evaluation of your performance is coming up, and while you are indeed extremely valuable to me, be advised that further disobedience will make you less so."**

_Jenrya met eyes with Takato, his expression, as usual, unreadable. Takato stared back, feeling a strange pulling sensation in his stomach – it felt like he was falling into those gray-with-black eyes and he had to visibly shake himself before he remembered what they had been talking about in the first place. He suddenly had an urge to blurt out-loud every thought as Jenrya kneeled in front of him, their faces only mere inches apart._

_Jenrya even now continued to probe Takato's mysterious defenses, his beguiling alien eyes on the other boy's face. _

"**You must, of course, have realized by now that cooperation is key, Takato**," _said Jenrya more gently, eyes half-lidded_. "**Even if your security measures in place, I can make a very good estimate as to what you are thinking at the moment and let me tell you this: what you sought days before wasn't worth your attention. You are so much superior to any other human alive that really all you do is taint yourself. I couldn't bear to see you like that**."

_Takato found he couldn't look away from that arresting gaze. _

"**Takato, even if I'm not fully online right now, I still do have concern for your well-being**," _Jenrya said quietly. Takato felt a flutter in his chest at this. As Jenrya's eyes continued to bore on him, Takato felt hope and affection start to war with each other_. "**I don't like it when you see that other hu – that other boy..."**

_Black Growlmon rumbled waspishly behind them, irritated at being shunted aside. "Maybe if you were here more often, Jenrya, Takato wouldn't get lonely."_

_Jenrya ignored the Digimon as if he wasn't even worth his notice. Takato thought that was very strange – he distantly remembered Jenrya rather liking Digimon – and the smile that had crept unconsciously onto his face slowly turned into a frown. _

"_Well," Takato ventured, still rather nervous since he wasn't used to Jenrya _not _being able to read his mind, "I do get lonely sometimes. Before…we used to be together more, so I thought…"_

"**Things will be different, I promise**_," said Jenrya and offered a stiff-lipped smile._

_Takato stared at him, unsure of what to say. Having Jenrya making promises to _him – _instead of the other way around – was very disorienting and he tried to come up a suitable reason for this. Jenrya, a little nagging voice in his head said, wasn't really here. He even said so. This was like…like…well, like an ambassador with the same face, that same little voice supposed. That didn't seem like the best explanation, but he couldn't seem to come up with anything better. At least for now._

_Still, Jenrya _had _promised, the other little voice said, the one that seemed to be dominant most of the time. He had essentially promised Takato that he wouldn't be left alone, left behind, and so far, despite all the threats and disappointment, Jenrya had held true to his word. Yet even both of the little voices in Takato's head agreed that while Jenrya might care for them, he would also only remain true to his word so long as Takato obeyed him. It really all boiled down to how useful and indispensable Takato made himself._

_Everything seemed to contradict itself._

_Takato didn't know what to think anymore._

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Black Growlmon woke up with a sudden start.

Frowning, the Champion pushed himself into a sitting position, blinking in confusion and then giving an angry snarl as reality dawned on him. Why had he woken up? His dream has been so downright wonderful – even with _Jenrya_ there, which was almost always a damper – and the Shadow had been enjoying his time with Takato. For a few minutes, he hated himself more than he even hated Terriermon, loathed himself for waking up for no reason and denying himself those precious moments with his Tamer. But, calming down, he reasoned that he was truly not the one at fault here. The root of all this was their enemies who prevented him and Takato from being happy together. If their enemies were gone, then the joy of the dream, the joy of being with Takato, wouldn't be just dreams. They would be reality.

This made the Shadow feel better.

A little.

It was deep in the night now and he had lost at least a day from his kill-stupor of his recent meal, which meant more sniffing around for Jenrya and Terriermon's trail. Bending low and snuffling at the street, he couldn't help daydreaming about sitting in the sun with Takato. They hadn't done anything – no playing, no hunting, nothing – but that didn't matter. Being with Takato was fine no matter _what_ they were doing.

And then Jenrya had come along and made Takato upset.

It made Black Growlmon angry all over just thinking about it. Takato seemed to think that Jenrya was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but Black Growlmon just couldn't see the other boy's appeal. At all. A part of him was (rightfully) frightened of Jenrya. The other part could do little but fume in the background, incensed at how Jenrya was stealing Takato away from _him_. And what was worse was the way he treated him, Black Growlmon thought with growing ire. If he had been Jenrya – the thought of being even _remotely_ human made him shudder – he knew he wouldn't be so harsh with Takato.

But he wasn't Jenrya and he was in no position to tell Jenrya what to do.

Black Growlmon trotted along the empty, abandoned streets, moving as quickly as his size would allow. Several times he spotted clusters of humans moving about in little bands in the distance. Some were following a lone black and white car with red and blue lights. Others were helping themselves into stores, retrieving supplies. If they saw Black Growlmon, they didn't react – displaced from their homes, they had bigger problems. Many probably imagined they were seeing things. That was fine with him. The less distractions, the better.

Street signs meant nothing to him and he didn't bother looking at them as he crossed the street, tail stiff behind him for balance. He hadn't ever learned to read the human language, so things such as street signs only looked like a meaningless collection of squiggles and boxes to him. Humans, with the exception of Takato, always seemed to make things more inanely difficult than they had to be. He remembered Jenrya – not Takato's Jenrya, but Terriermon's Jenrya – trying to explain to him the meaning of these "characters". He had said that they sometimes resembled the word's meaning, but Black Growlmon even back then had thought that was utterly ridiculous.

Humans, as a general whole, were ridiculous.

With the exception of Takato, Black Growlmon hurriedly amended. Takato was _special_ and Black Growlmon liked to think that Takato must have been a Digimon in his previous life.

It was late in the night when the scent began to grow much stronger: he was very close to the apartment building, he supposed. Striding down the street, Black Growlmon sniffed carefully at the air, observing his surroundings with suspicion. Broken windows lined the buildings towering over him, shards of glass still littering the streets and sidewalks. Open doors gaped silently at him, some swinging on broken hinges, creaking, and everywhere, there was a gentle groan, as if the very buildings themselves were exhausted to the breaking point, heaving weary sighs here and there. He didn't see any humans, although their stench was everywhere: living humans, dead ones that they hadn't had a chance to bury. The Digimon wrinkled his snout. Even from here, the smell of death was very strong.

Yet even so, he could pick out Jenrya's scent, wandering around in this death-stench, wandering around with that strange boy he was always with these days.

Black Growlmon was in sight of Jenrya's apartment building when he saw the first real sign of life in this area: there was some kind of encampment on the far side at least a block away, tongues of flame flickering and sparking in a few metal bins as a cluster of humans crowded around them for warmth. There had to be at least twenty of them. Shadows of others sat dotted around the twisted ruins of some kind of metal structure and for a moment, he stood stock still, his snake-eyes scanning the area and looking for any sign of Jenrya and the others. All the figures were too big; some were too tall, others too round, others had curves that Jenrya simply didn't have. Jenrya wasn't here any more, but his scent was much, much stronger.

Well. He probably would be able to make a direct bee-line to Jenrya now that he had found a trail that was only several hours – and not several days – old. Surveying the unsuspecting band of humans, he debated quickly with himself. Surely Takato would understand. Any humans who gave Jenrya and his companions safe passage were enemies by default; best to wipe them out rather than give them a chance to aid them again. It was simple, but made perfect sense.

The edges of the Shadow's jaws turned up in a nasty grin as he advanced toward the band of humans.

This wouldn't take very long.

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_Takato tried to think very hard, but today it felt like he had iron clamps attached to the sides of his head. He wondered if this was Jenrya's doing and realized immediately that this was a very stupid question indeed. Jenrya stuck to his word and he had told Takato that he wouldn't allow him to roam free like before. So it made sense. Still, upon testing the iron clamps on his head, Takato couldn't help but squirm mentally – they were very uncomfortable now that he noticed them and he longed for them to be off. It wasn't…it wasn't _fair _he had to wear them._

_The boy did a double-take at this thought. Fair? _

_Had he actually…? _

_Yes, he had. _

_The concept of unfair didn't even exist in Jenrya's world and by all rights, it shouldn't have even occurred to him whether or not his position was "unfair". Takato thought about this very hard, despite the clamps tightening down around him, and finally came to a conclusion. This wasn't as much of Jenrya's world as he assumed. Jenrya couldn't make every world Takato saw, otherwise he wouldn't be able to even think about such vague things as "fairness". This seemed like it should be inherently _wrong_, but Takato, thinking about it further, couldn't find any other explanations that just rang…_true _like this one did._

_Food for thought, he supposed. _

_Still, this was disturbing where it was going and probably not a good idea to carry it out to the end. In this world, this world that wasn't owned by Jenrya completely, Takato knew that he was starting – slowly, very, very slowly – to think clearly, to think more like a _human _and less like Jenrya here (at least now he could tell where he ended and Jenrya began, a big difference from what he vaguely remembered before). He had a feeling that this was precisely what Jenrya didn't want and the clamps pressed down harder on his head in response, for a second forcing his mind to go blank._

_But Jenrya wasn't all-powerful here._

_That alone was practically earth-shattering, and it was a concept that Takato had difficulty grasping, thought-block or not. It was _painful

_The question that kept haunting him was "why?". Why for everything. Why for everything, yet no answer could ever suffice. It made his head hurt and for some strange reason, Takato wished Jenrya's thought-blocker was more efficient. Thinking for himself hurt inside._

_It was…depressing, these new truths about Jenrya. Disappointing. And troubling, as well, for Takato was starting to remember other things – terrible, horrible things he had done with his own hands, with Jenrya that had involved cold-blooded killing. Murder. Guilt and emptiness were starting to set in as he wandered down the abandoned sidewalk without any sense of direction, glancing up at the sky, for the first time starting to really understand the extent of hopelessness and endless shame uncurling in the pit of his stomach. _

_Today it wasn't a very nice day at all. The air crackled with electricity and he almost swore he could feel the hairs on his head starting to stand up. There was an unpleasant wetness, muggy and uncomfortable, making him fidget a little in the oppressively moist warmth. It didn't help at all that he seemed to be very sluggish and lethargic at the moment, a strange, unexplainable weight making his movements slow, limbs leaden. He managed to make it a block down the street before he was forced to sit down at the unoccupied bus stop, panting for breath._

_Must be the weather, he reasoned feverishly. Still, that didn't quite explain the sudden shortness of breath or the tight knot seeming to form painfully inside him. Placing one pale hand over his thin chest, Takato could feel his heart fluttering weakly between his ribs, beating like a trapped bird. _

_Jenrya promptly materialized next to him, fixing his silver-within-black eyes on the other boy._

"**What do you think you're doing?**" _Jenrya demanded._

_Takato looked up in mild surprise. What did it look like he was doing? "I'm sitting."_

"**That's not what I mean. Your vital signs are dropping at a dangerous rate, Takato Matsuda; I can only sustain you without the normal life support systems for only so long without your own input. In order for us to survive the reboot-up process, _you_ must sustain us both.**"

"_I'm not – "_

"**Your Will to live is declining for some reason I cannot fathom**_," Jenrya interrupted him. His face was twisted for the first time with real, genuine emotion – alarm. _"**You will kill yourself if this continues**."

_Takato tried to sit up, but could only stare dumbly at his friend, sagging heavily in his seat. He didn't understand, he wasn't _doing _anything at all this time, aside from thinking. It wasn't like he was actually _wishing _to die like Jenrya claimed, all he had been doing was just trying to clear his head. Some of those thoughts leaked past the strange mental barriers he had constructed earlier, enough so that Jenrya could read them, his alien eyes flicking quickly about Takato as if he could see the very wisps of shaky questions and ideas. _

"**You are at fault; the very center of your Will is wavering. Without your Will fueling your physical body, you will die quickly"**, _Jenrya said, almost pleading now. "_**Stop this at once.**"

_Takato tried to focus on Jenrya despite the fact his vision kept blurring for some reason, feeling a sudden wave of anger directed at the other boy. Why was Jenrya being so callous? He hadn't cared about all those people he – they – had killed, whether purposefully or accidentally, like their attack against the false-Jenrya and his friends when they had triggered the self-defense systems. Humans, like Takato, alive and breathing, had died, been crushed to death, yet Jenrya just wrote them off as expendable._

_Takato was trying to figure out if he wanted to glare at Jenrya or not when he felt a wave of unexplainable coldness sweeping up over his body, sending tremors up through his legs and arms. His vision flickered hazily, black around the edges, and he realized belatedly that he was starting to fade in and out of consciousness right here and now. It occurred to him that Jenrya – cold, machine-like, methodical uncaring – was probably right. He really _did _feel like something was getting drained from him as weakness began to abruptly set in, like something was dribbling away from him._

_He was dimly aware of the dream-world starting to fray at the edges, glowing cracks suddenly dancing everywhere like thin spider legs. Jenrya lunged at him with those claws of his just as Takato blacked out, his heartbeat like slowing drums in his veins and then, for one long second, stilled completely._

_Darkness._

_Nothing. _

_For the first time, wonderful peace…_

_- A flash of blinding light - _

_- Sudden, indescribable pain bloomed in his chest, both his real and dream-ones - _

_Takato involuntarily spasmed, back arching up off the sidewalk. Another explosion of pain and suddenly he was coughing harshly, cruelly dragged out of that peaceful void. Infinite sadness started to set in at this unfair, disheartening realization, only to result in another punishing burst of agony. His teeth positively chattered. His eyes flickered open. Jenrya looked down at him, holding the other boy in one strong, clawed hand, the other with the wickedly curved talons impeded into his chest, right where his heart was. Takato was sure his claws were wrapped around his heart, and it was actually quite uncomfortable to have them inside him like that. Electricity still crackled in the air the two boys._

"**I can't have you dying,"** _Jenrya said. "_**I still have need of you**."

_Takato stared up mutely at Jenrya. The inhuman eyes narrowed as he bent in close._

"**You won't escape from me unless I will it, Takato Matsuda. Death will not save you. I will keep you biologically alive as long as I can**."

_Takato opened his mouth, feeling like he'd swallowed cotton-balls, but Jenrya shook his head, leaning in even closer, his cold breath grazing Takato's flushed cheek, his voice a deadly purr. _

"**We function most efficiently as one if you are Willing, but I will tell you this. I cannot survive this rebooting process without your Will – you _must_ keep me alive until it is over. It is true I need you for the _time being_**," _Jenrya paused. "_**But I have evolved enough that afterward…**"

_Jenrya whispered something so horrible that Takato _froze_, staring wide-eyed up at his friend, forgetting about the terrible tremors from the electrical shocks still assaulting him, forgetting about the chilling claws inside his chest, forgetting about everything. Jenrya had to be lying. He had said he couldn't…that Takato was…but…_

_But nothing._

_He was right. _

_Jenrya had lied._

_He might have lied then, but he spoke the truth now. Takato could still hear Jenrya's perfect voice, as casual and matter-of-fact as if this shouldn't have come as a great surprise._

"**I won't need you anymore,"** Jenrya had purred into Takato's ear. "**I've evolved enough that my basic survival after the rebooting process won't hinge on your life alone. Die if you absolutely must afterward. It doesn't matter to me. I will have some of your powers left, I will have your partner and I ****will _survive without you if I have to_**_."_

_Takato didn't want to believe it. If he did, it turned everything upside down. _

"**Of course,"** _Jenrya continued, peering down at Takato through blue bangs, silver-within-black eyes hooded, _"**this is not the preferred scenario. I would much rather have full-access to you and your abilities than being forced to function at half-capacity. It is hardly efficient and needlessly difficult**."

"_No…" Takato managed to choke out in a moan, voice hoarse. _

_Jenrya gave a shrug. _"**This is your choice. There are two options available to you. You may die - I will keep you biologically alive as long as possible, but you will kill off yourself as you are now, leaving only your physical body behind. Or you may live, and we will continue like before. Choose to live, and I will be willing to give you a gift rather than a punishment; you will be rewarded for choosing the more efficient choice**."__

Takato was silent. Jenrya slowly removed his claws from Takato's heart. He brought his hand up gently, giving the boy's cheek an almost loving caress that Takato knew now for certain he was faking, clarity somehow warring with the disjointed sense of reality cracking yet again_. He could remember more and more now, ugly bits and pieces that made Takato want to roll over and dry-heave as it dawned on him what had happened, for the first time realizing how he had been betrayed and how much he'd betrayed others. All for what? Jenrya's touch brought him back to the present, drawing his gaze up to meet the other boy's silver eyes. _

_Jenrya's palm was cold as steel, impossibly smooth, his curved claws tickling Takato's skin. Takato couldn't help flinching a little at the touch._

"**Choose to live and let me through these new shields of yours**_," Jenrya murmured. _"**I will erase all memories of this for you; you will not remember what I have just told you. You will have that peace you humans seek. You will have your peace, and I will still have you, even if you are not essential to me anymore. But, regardless…my survival is tantamount to all else. Even you**."

_Takato could feel anger and fury starting to well within him. He might not remember much – if anything – before he had met Jenrya, but that didn't make this betrayal hurt any less. A part of him wanted to hate him now, just as the other adamantly refused to believe the truth. Torn, fractured, unsure of himself, Takato tried to turn over these choices Jenrya represented him in his mind, trying desperately to _think

_The thought-blockers kicked in, but that didn't stop Takato from coming to a conclusion. _

"_These aren't choices, Jenrya." Takato wanted to cry in frustration, but the angry tears refused to come. _

_Jenrya only offered two deaths._

"**Nevertheless, you must pick one,"** _said Jenrya, smooth claws still on Takato's cheek with the same false affection as before, actually _smiling _now. _"**For what else is there for you, companion system**?"

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Black Growlmon was enjoying himself. He hadn't had this much exercise in quite awhile and it was refreshing to be able to stretch his legs; humans could be surprisingly good sprinters when they put their mind to it. He had been sporting at first, and rather than just charging in, had stepped into view and let them get a good, long look at his marvelous form before lunging at the first, closest human and picking him up in his jaws by his torso. The male had been screaming a storm before a lazy, snapping twist of Black Growlmon's jaws silenced him, leaving the body to dangle between his fangs like a rag doll.

_That_ sent the rest of the group of humans scattering.

The shrieks they made were quite gratifying.

He tossed the corpse to the side – he could come back and get it later if he still felt peckish - and took off at a loping, rolling run after the fleeing humans, horned head down, claws tucked in, movements birdlike and deadly. Humans overall were probably faster than him in sprints (quite surprising, really, what with their tiny, puny little legs), but he was larger and had far better endurance. There was no doubt in his mind that he would catch up eventually.

The humans scattered in groups, following the mindless herd mentality, as if numbers could afford them safety, as if he was going to be satisfied with just picking off the weakest of the pack. He laughed at this, laughed out-loud, his laughter a thundering roar that bounced off the concrete walls of the buildings around them. He easily caught up to the first group and torched the stragglers with a puff of white flame. Rinse, repeat with the next two.

The next group turned out to be a bit more difficult, since they were zigzagging now and were faster and younger than the first ones. He eventually picked them off one by one, rather astonished to see that they had given him a good work-out. Black Growlmon was actually breathing hard from all the running, amazingly enough. He was almost impressed.

It took almost half an hour before he had picked off the majority of them. One of the next ones was back near where he'd attacked that first male human, her scent stained with terror. He took his time now – for some reason, her smell wasn't moving. Slightly puzzled, Black Growlmon stepped out of the shadows as he rounded the corner.

This human was female, fairly young, black hair, little beady eyes, standing next to one of the pitiful little bonfires erected for warmth. She looked like just about every other human to him. _Why isn't she running?_ She was definitely terrified, he could see that, her little body quaking visibly, fear roiling off her so strongly that he wrinkled his snout, giving a snort. She held some kind of little cage in her hands, standing her ground as if she could protect it. Black Growlmon squinted his snake's eyes, trying to make out what was in there that was so valuable she was willing to sacrifice herself to a him for it.

There didn't seem to be anything in there. If there was, it was too small for him to make out.

Giving a mental shrug at the boundless stupidity of humans, Black Growlmon took a step forward to finish her off. She positively reeked of Jenrya and that strange boy that was always with him; she must have been with them recently.

"Human, it would have been better if you never met Jenrya Lee. I'll be sure to make _your_ death painful to the end," Black Growlmon sneered. The human female looked dumbfounded to hear words come out of his jaws. She took a step backward just as he took a step forward.

He didn't make it any further when suddenly the world flipped upside down, spinning and spinning, and then, without warning, blacked out completely, winking out of existence. He dimly felt his body stiffening and then suddenly toppled to the right. His hind legs when out from under him. He fell heavily onto his side, and lay there, frozen, his body unresponsive.

Pain blossomed in his chest, stabbing from all directions like icy-hot swords. A roar of protest. He was faintly aware of his female prey taking off, disappearing into the darkness. Black Growlmon struggled to his feet to pursue, but was downed by another violent burst of agony in his heart. His tail thumped on the ground as he twitched and bucked feebly where he lay, hissing and spitting and snarling.

A third one.

Then…it was over, leaving Black Growlmon panting in relief, his long tongue rolling over his parted fangs.

It took several minutes before he could compose himself, a bit longer before he was sure he could get to his feet without falling unceremoniously over. _What _was _that?_ Even his evolution from Guilmon to Black Growlmon hadn't been nowhere near as painful. He carefully touched his chest with one blood-stained claw – the ache was gone and he felt fine now, the pain from before only a memory. Still, he hadn't imagined it.

Maybe his evolution was unstable? That was always possible – he had a feeling that his little transformation probably hadn't been normal. Yet…he wasn't sure. It had felt like he was being erased, ceasing to exist, only to get shocked back to life rudely time and time again.

_Takato?_

Takato didn't answer back and that alarmed Black Growlmon. Maybe something had happened to his Tamer. The thought was chilling, dashing his blood lust and confusion away like ice water. What was he doing here indulging himself if his partner might be in trouble? Furious at his stupidity, he took his rage out on the bodies he hadn't charred to ashes in the hunt, tearing them to pieces until there wasn't anything left to tear apart, leaving his breath heaving in and out of him with powerful snorts as his heart calmed.

_Takato's not dead._ Black Growlmon at least knew that much. Perhaps his partner had been on the verge, but someone or something had drawn him back. So he was okay for now, although he had no way of knowing how long. He couldn't bother with these frivolous hunts anymore until he got the Jenrya and found Takato. The Shadow was ashamed of his loss of control, but there was no way to take it back now. He had expended energy chasing the humans around and since he had so thoughtlessly shredded whatever potential meals into ribbons, he now was also going to be slowed down.

_Wonderful_, Black Growlmon thought. _Just wonderful._

Wishing he could just drain away his anger and frustration, he turned and began to plod toward Jenrya's scent trail, moving at a trot, measuring his pace as he reserved his energy. Well, at the very least, he knew Jenrya was probably close. He would probably come upon Jenrya, Terriermon and that strange boy with them within the next day, so long as he didn't go out hunting again. Still angry with himself and troubled at his episode with the chest pains earlier, Black Growlmon disappeared into the darkness, the moon rising overhead, heading north-east.

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Tadako ran for her life.

Her heart thundered between her ribs, adrenaline making her run faster than she had ever run before. She was probably scaring Chanchan to death with all the bouncing, even as she clutched his cage to her chest, but she couldn't think straight. Fear fueled her thin body; somehow she managed to navigate the messes in the streets and alleys, leaping over rubble, barreling blindly forward, unable to focus and see.

She had seen a _monster_.

The memory alone was too horrible to even comprehend completely. She remembered the fear, the sprays of red, the bursts of white plumes of fire enveloping some of her apartment neighbors. They were vaporized into ashes, if even that much was left. Tadako wasn't sure what happened to Yasuo – she hoped he got away – and she tried to forget the whole thing, but it refused to be pushed back so easily, even as her legs went on automatic and carried her as far away from that hell as quickly as possible. The worst part, aside from the horrific amount of blood and stuff too disgusting to name, was the monster itself. It was _playing_ with them. She was almost sure it had been laughing at them, mocking them.

The thing was _evil_.

And that was before it actually spoke.

She shivered despite the heat coursing through her veins, despite the thin sheen of sweat making her pants and shirt stick to her body. The monster's voice had been decidedly intelligent and cruel.

It mentioned a name that was somehow familiar and it took her a moment in her blind panic to remember where she heard it before.

_Jenrya Lee_…that boy with Ryo Akiyama, the kid she'd been a temporary guardian for! She almost skidded to a stop right there as the impact sank in. This monster was going to do the same to them what he'd done to their encampment. She didn't know if they were going to believe her, but she found her feet deciding for her – they changed direction, heading toward the hospital she'd remembered everyone talking about heading to the other day. Tadako hoped she wouldn't run into that black dragon again, if that was what that horrible thing was. She couldn't even promise that she would reach Jenrya, Ryo and Suma in time to warn them

Even so, she had to try.

**  
To be continued**  
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Once again, if you want to see the Proper Indented Version of this fanfic, IM or e-mail me.


	26. Driving the Nail Down

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own Digimon Tamers.  
**Author's Note**: Sorry about the delay, but on the plus side, it's a pretty longish chapter.

Reviews are _very _much appreciated, but they don't determine how long I take on chapters.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similar to telepathy

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Driving the Nail Down)

Ryo Akiyama felt like utter _crap_. The pounding headache refused to go away and several times during the trek from Jenrya's apartment to the hospital he started seeing stars in his front of his eyes for no reason whatsoever. He had taken to trying to rub them away unconsciously, until Jenrya gave him a weird look and asked what in the world he was doing. _Hell if I know_, Ryo thought tiredly. He felt like he'd been run over by a steamroller armed with pickaxes. He thought maybe that wound in his head had something to do with it, but he wasn't sure. Maybe it was that and the fact that he'd been running on empty for at least three days straight.

He rubbed at his eyes then at his forehead, but it didn't help much.

He was glad to be able to sit down, at the very least. The wait until a doctor could see them had been hours – there were far worse injuries than Jenrya Lee's, and they were lucky to even get a place to sit down in the over-packed lobby. The smell hadn't been pleasant – too hot, too stuffy, too many people, many who probably hadn't bathed much in the last couple of days – and Terriermon had to wait near the door or risk being sick to his stomach, his nose far more sensitive than Jenrya or Ryo's.

It had been late afternoon before Jenrya was attended to, which brought them to their current situation: Janyuu sitting in one of the chairs in the little room, Reika playing with Shuichon outside, Ryo sitting cross-legged on the linoleum floor (the remaining stool had been purloined for another doctor), and Jenrya sitting uncomfortably on the paper-covered bed.

"It's a dislocated shoulder, alright," said the doctor once he took a good look at Jenrya's arm. "Shouldn't be too hard to patch up though."

Jenrya perked up, brightening for the first time all day. "Really?"

"We'll just set it back into the socket and have you wear a sling for a bit," the middle-aged man said. "I'd say you came off lucky, from that story you told me. Anyway, I'll need to talk to your father outside, so please wait here until we finish."

Jenrya nodded, turning to Ryo as the two men left. Ryo met his gaze wearily, leaning back against the wall.

"You okay?" Jenrya asked after a pause.

Ryo sighed wearily, trying to massage his temples with his good hand. "Have one hell of a headache. I think I need sleep."

"Same here," Jenrya offered a tentative smile. "Well, at least we're not sleeping out in the open tonight."

"Yeah."

Jenrya tilted his head at the unenthusiastic response, watching Ryo. For some reason, Ryo seemed distracted during the trip here and he was curious about what was going on in the other boy's head right now. Ryo was so hard to read sometimes. One minute he'd be just his usual arrogantly sarcastic self, the next…Jenrya kept getting glimpses of something else. Exhaustion. Sadness. Futility. He didn't quite understand it, but then he reasoned that they _did_ practically have a building fall down on them… so Ryo feeling bad right now (although days after the fact) couldn't be completely unexpected.

Personally Jenrya felt pretty good, ignoring his dislocated arm. The black eye was starting to go down, and while he was sporting several impressive scabs on his knees and arms, he felt fine.

"You sure you're okay?" Jenrya asked quietly.

"I'm fine."

"The doctor should look at your head," Jenrya insisted.

"They already bandaged it back at your place."

Trust Ryo to be stubborn and resistant. At least that hadn't changed. Jenrya almost smiled, but thought better of it. "I'm serious, Ryo," Jenrya frowned. "It's been days. It could be infected for all we know."

"I don't think it's gonna kill me," Ryo grumbled, but it was half-hearted this time, as if he was too tired to argue with Jenrya right now.

One of Jenrya's little quirks, Ryo reflected as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, was that Jenrya just didn't know when to quit sometimes. He supposed that was something they had in common, although Ryo tended to channel that little trait to different places than the other boy. If it wasn't for this stupid headache, Ryo would probably be annoyed at Jenrya's nosiness, but right now it was strangely comforting. He didn't think the head-wound was really that big of a deal, since he seemed to be able to take far more damage than that, but it was kind of nice in a weird way that Jenrya had thought about it.

"I talked with your father," said the doctor as he came back into the room, "and we'll patch up that arm of yours now. Follow me."

Jenrya practically jumped off the bed, paper sheets crinkling and flashed a hopeful smile at Ryo. "Think you'll survive without me?" he joked.

The look Ryo aimed him was long-suffering, although the other boy surprisingly managed the beginnings of his customary, lop-sided smirk. "You're a regular comedian."

"Someone here has to be."

"We _could_ look at that injury of yours, you know," the doctor interjected, gesturing at the bandage around Ryo's forehead. "It's starting to bleed through. You need a proper dressing."

"…Okay, okay. Fine. Jenrya first."

"Alright. Wait here; I'll come get you after I'm done."

Ryo watched as they left, feeling himself relax once he was alone in the room. It had been a long time since he had been alone and he was at least glad to get a chance to catch his breath, closing his eyes and allowing his chin to droop to his chest, relaxing further. He was thirsty. Hungry too. The headache still ebbed, but the silence and his closed eyes seemed to help a little in keeping it at bay. He was probably dehydrated. It would explain the headache. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of that doctor poking around in his head, but Jenrya would keep pestering him until he submitted.

He almost smiled at this. Somehow he was starting to get used to Jenrya's pestering nosiness.

A few more minutes of silence in the cramped hospital room. Ryo debated with taking a nap, but decided against it – too many strange, bizarre dreams he couldn't _quite_ remember and he was too tired to deal with that crap right now. He wondered what Jenrya planned to do from here. They had made it to what was probably the first real sign of order in days, but they were miles away from Ruki and Alice. The Matsudas were far closer. Jenrya would probably insist on checking up on them. _Tamayo…_

He had no idea if she was even alive – they weren't at the same hospital – and he always got these strange twisting feelings in the middle of his gut whenever he thought of his guardian. _She only had a broken leg_, he told himself. Still, even if that was a minor injury (certainly not life threatening), there was those strange earthquakes. Something worse could have happened, like the building collapsing on her. It made him feel nauseous just thinking about it and it took him a moment before he realized he actually genuinely _cared_ what happened to her.

_Great. When did I start getting a conscience?_ Ryo certainly didn't need one right now, not when it made him want to do stupid things like run out of here and try to find Tamayo's hospital by himself. Despite how many brow beatings he gave Jenrya about doing impulsive, stupid things, it looked like he needed to follow his own advice. Things hadn't ever been this confusing in the Digital World…

He started to doze off when the doctor returned. Ryo looked up.

"Ready?"

Ryo nodded, getting to his feet. He followed the bearded man down the twisting hallways, keeping close, eyes front. Overhead lights flickered here and there and the coming rain streaked the windows he could see with flecks of drizzle. Most of the rooms passed were filled with patients, the doctors and nurses working overtime. They ended up in a corner room – little more than a closet – when his doctor turned to him and told him to sit down in the chair.

"Let's take a look, shall we? Lean your head back and close your eyes."

Ryo did so obediently. He felt the warmth of the movable lamp suspended on the ceiling coming closer, movement about his head as the doctor began unwinding the bandages wrapped clumsily days before.

"Do you remember getting injured?" the doctor's voiced asked conversationally.

"No. I mean, people were getting freaked out when I woke up, but everyone was freaking out and running around at the time. I thought I got off pretty light."

"Well, there seems to be a good amount of blood even days after the injury. It might just be all that movement though."

Ryo didn't reply, waiting patiently for the man to finish unwinding. The doctor was still talking as he unwound the last of the gauze and he abruptly trailed off as he caught sight of the wound. Ryo peeked open one eye, but saw nothing. The lamp was right there in his face and he seriously couldn't see anything but a black outline of the man examining his head. After a few seconds of heavy silence, Ryo was starting to get impatient.

"Am I gonna live?" he asked dryly.

The doctor swallowed. "I…this is bigger and deeper than expected."

"Yeah, something was stuck in it, but I didn't get a good look at it before they pulled it out the other day."

The doctor managed to find his voice, leaning in for a closer look, disbelief coloring his words. "I don't understand this at _all_. I'm going to be frank with you, son, since you deserve to know," he said haltingly. "With this kind of injury, you shouldn't even be walking. These usually floor people."

"Really?" Ryo kept his eyes closed, not ready to blind himself again. "Guess I lucked out."

"Realistically speaking, you shouldn't have," the doctor said, hesitant. "I mean, if this injury has been bleeding for _days_…"

Ryo wondered how bad it was – a morbid part of him was curious now to see just how terrible it could possibly be. Still, he wasn't particularly worried. The headache _could_ be from the head injury, but he had a good feeling that this wouldn't be the end of him, no matter what the doctor thought. He winced as the doctor, still expressing astonishment, began to clean and properly dress the wound, the warmth of the lamp fading for a moment as it was pulled away. Ryo started to get up as the man finished, making a noise of protest as he was pushed back down.

"Sorry, but I would like to do a checkup before you leave. I'm still surprised you're in this condition with that kind of injury."

Ryo grumbled but sat down again, crossing his arms as he went through the check-up. The test of his reflexes proved that he was healthy and perfectly alive. His heart-rate and blood pressure were normal. There was a mild frown as the man examined Ryo's broken fingers (he would probably have to come back and get those taken care of once they had more time). Everything else checked out fine, however, which positively baffled the poor doctor as he began to shine lights into his ears and eyes. He stopped at the eyes, peering into them as Ryo tried to keep them from watering at the bright light.

"You don't wear contacts or anything, do you?" the doctor asked in confusion.

"No, why?" Ryo was starting to get waspish. He just wanted to go back and get some food and rest now.

"There's something strange with your eyes. It's almost like –"

Ryo was already pushing himself out of the seat. "Is it dangerous?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so…but they're rather unusual…"

"Okay, I'll be sure to check them out some other time," Ryo said quickly, eager to get out of here and not particularly interested in a conversation about what an interesting shade of everyday brown his eyes were. "Thanks for the help."

Ryo quickly retreated. The way back to the lobby was narrow and he had to take several flights of stairs to get there, squeezing through the people cramming the stairwell. He wasn't surprised at the little checkup, although the injury did feel mercifully better now that it had been treated by a real doctor. He hadn't been too happy about the way the man kept ogling over him though. And that thing with the eyes had been kind of weird, now that he thought about it – he'd humor the man and take a closer look himself sometime (it wasn't like he went around checking his face out that closely whenever he could). He gave a passing glance at one of the mirrors lining one of the walls, but he couldn't see anything out of place. Just his own reflection, scowling back at him.

_Probably nothing._ The doctor probably freaked out because of that impossible injury, and had been so dead-set on finding _something_ abnormal that he was imagining things.

Jenrya and the others didn't react any differently when he returned and Ryo forgot about the little incident as they clustered together outside of the lobby to discuss plans. Jenrya's arm was in a sling, but he looked fine other than that, eyes brighter than before and smiling at Ryo as he joined them.

"The damage here isn't too bad," Reika said. "We can probably squat in that little motel across the street if we have to. I checked out the place, and there's no one manning it."

"Sounds good to me," Janyuu said. He shifted Shuichon to his other arm – the little girl had fallen asleep, and was now curled in the crook of his elbow, head resting against his shoulder. "Oh yes…Ms. Otori, does your cell phone still work?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Could I borrow it? I should probably check up on the Matsudas and Makinos."

"Sure." Reika handed over the phone.

Ryo didn't want to wait around for all this. He was tired as hell and he needed rest. "I'm going to go save a room for us before we get beaten to it," he announced and left without waiting for an answer. He was nearly across the street before Jenrya caught up with him.

"Wait up!" Jenrya said. "Don't you think we should stay together?"

Ryo flicked a tired glance at him. "I'm exhausted, Jenrya. I really need sleep right now. Unlike _someone_, I don't run on sunshine and rainbows."

"Sunshine and – I do _not_!" Jenrya exclaimed. Terriermon snickered. His Tamer gave a sigh, and changed tactics, still dogging Ryo. "So what'd the doctor say?"

"That I'm supposed to be dead?" Ryo said bluntly.

Jenrya stared at him taken aback, unsure if he was joking or not. He couldn't help relaxing as Ryo gave a sardonic little chuckle.

"Nah. He just kept going on about the bandages and stuff, that's all," Ryo said dismissively. He wasn't quite sure why exactly he was avoiding the whole thing. It didn't really matter.

They had entered the motel by now. Bits and pieces of discarded luggage were scattered across the small office in the front, books and folders littering the floor. The muddy footsteps were testament that they probably wouldn't have the whole place to themselves, but that was fine. Ryo could sleep in very cramped quarters if he absolutely needed to…although that wouldn't be too big of an issue, considering how empty this place seemed in comparison to the hospital across the street. He located an empty room at the end of the far wing and stepped in through the door swinging open, glancing around. It had two worn beds, a television set, bedside lamps, and a narrow corridor that led to what he assumed was the bathroom. He'd be very surprised if the facilities worked, but hey, at least there was a roof over their heads.

Ryo sat down carefully on the bed closest to the window, leaning back against the pillows with a sigh. He out like a light by the time Jenrya got back from his investigation of the bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya sat down on the bed next to Ryo. He wasn't sure how exactly the sleeping arrangements were going to work, but he was at least glad to feel an actual mattress under him for once. He flopped down, leaning up against the headboard and free pillow, letting himself relax, careful with the arm in the sling. An actual bed felt all too welcome after sleeping on the ground for the past couple of days.

Terriermon scampered up and plunked down on Jenrya's knee.

"You gonna get some sleep too?" Terriermon asked.

His Tamer shook his head. "I'm not that tired."

"So…what's happening tomorrow?"

Jenrya made a small noise of frustration, pursing his lips. "Well, I was kind of thinking we should check up on the Matsudas in person. After we get them, I figure we can head to that location of Ruki's, and then figure it out from there."

"Nice plan."

"Hey, I'm trying," Jenrya poked at his partner's little round stomach. "I can't be everywhere at once."

Terriermon leaned back on his stubby little paws. "Right."

"I hope the Matsudas are okay," Jenrya said quietly, gazing up at the ceiling, frowning. "It's just one thing after another, isn't it?"

His partner patted his knee with a stubby paw, trying to be comforting. "That's life, isn't it? You know what I always say when it gets like this?"

"Momentai?" Jenrya quipped, smiling a little.

"Well, yeah, but you're not supposed to finish my sentences for me," Terriermon tried to look put out. He turned serious again. "But really, Jenrya. We'll keep going forward even if it seems like everything – like right now – is holding us back."

"Thanks, Terriermon. I don't know what I'd do without you telling me how it is."

Jenrya expected his partner to laugh it off – like he usually did – and he was a little surprised to hear only silence. The expression on the Rookie's face was tight, strange, and he glanced away quickly when Jenrya looked at him. Terriermon slid off from his perch on his partner's knee, unusually subdued.

"Don't start saying stuff like that," Terriermon mumbled. "You'll jinx us."

Jenrya didn't know what to say and for a minute he was puzzled. But then it dawned on him: Terriermon was thinking about Black Growlmon again. He got that far-off, worried look sometimes and it didn't take a genius to figure that he was thinking about his friend again. _Well, _former _friend_, Jenrya supposed. But…no, that would be accepting that whatever happened to Black Growlmon and Takato was permanent and that was unacceptable.

"I'm gonna go check up on your sister," Terriermon said awkwardly and hopped off Jenrya's lap. "Get some rest or something." He toddled off, opening the door with one of his oversized ears and was gone.

The half-Chinese Tamer sighed. It seemed these days that everything was whirling around them like those tornados on TV, around and around until he wasn't sure at all which direction they had been facing originally. He tried to think positively. At least they hadn't seen any of those glowing things earlier…those "Golems" or whatever Ryo had called them. On top of that, they had shelter, his arm was going to heal, it didn't hurt as much now, and they were together (for the most part). Jenrya flopped back onto the bed, gazing up at the white ceiling. Thinking this positively could be almost _tiring_ – it was certainly a lot harder than just taking Ryo's pessimistic route.

He snuck a glance at Ryo – the other boy lying next to him was completely out, his chest rising and falling steadily. Jenrya turned his attention back to the ceiling. He wondered about his mom and brothers and sisters, realizing that he hadn't thought about them for days. Jenrya frowned silently at this, but before he could start worrying himself silly, he managed – just barely – to halt that line of thought. He had to be smart about this. His mom and the others were probably at their relative's house still. They had to be safe. _Dad's not worried._ So therefore they must be okay.

Jenrya thought back to the morning of the earthquake. He hadn't had a chance to think back on it much until now and he frowned, remembering how his computer almost seemed possessed at that time. He really wished he'd managed to save all those weird files that were flooding the machine in that sudden info-dump, but he had left all the portable USB drives in his bedroom. For all he knew, they were probably all destroyed, along with his computer. He might never find out just what happened that morning.

_Takato's okay._ He had to be, the pictures he remembered seeing were proof. His friend didn't look too happy in those pictures, but Jenrya reasoned he would be right as rain once they got him back and got through all of this. His brief smile faded quickly. Who had been that other boy, anyway? He didn't look exactly human, to understate it; not with that deathly pale skin, and definitely not with those eyes…silver within black where the whites should be. There was something remotely familiar about him, but Jenrya couldn't place it. _Might be another Digimon_, he thought and then he had to wonder what it was with all these shape-shifters running around.

That didn't really seem to be the right explanation, but he couldn't really think of anything else.

_At least I've got a face to go by now._ That boy with the weird eyes had something to do with Takato's disappearance, and Jenrya knew at least, with certainty, that he didn't _like_ this stranger. Something about him made Jenrya _angry_, and it wasn't just the fact that he was holding Takato captive, wherever he was. Something else. Something almost purely instinctive, that cried out _Don't trust him, no matter what happens_. For some unexplained reason, remembering that dead-looking boy made Jenrya feel as if something had been stolen from him.

That early morning visit from that unseen being…Jenrya wasn't sure if that was the other boy or not. All he knew was that it was obsessive about him to the point where it got downright creepy and that it somehow tracked him down and attempted to make contact. _Maybe I'm going about this wrong._ Jenrya was looking at the unknown visitor like an enemy to be battled, when he should try to look at clues like that info-dump on his computer, rather than figuring out how to destroy this "other". Whatever – whoever – it had been, it almost seemed like it _wanted_ to be found out, what with all that data it left in its wake.

Too bad the data seemed nonsensical. Utterly _random_. If only he had the time and a computer to try to sort it all out into something meaningful. He could've asked his dad for the help – they probably could have cracked the puzzle by now if they had been given the chance.

Jenrya chewed on his lip, deep in thought now.

Maybe he could somehow broadcast his location somehow. Not now – it wasn't the time – but later. If his little stalker was as obsessed as he thought, it would probably come back, especially if he tried to initiate contact this time.

Maybe then he could get answers about Takato and his "friend".

Jenrya at this point wasn't too particular about how he got those answers out. Voluntarily or forced, he didn't care. He had a feeling that Ruki might have congratulated him for finally seeing it her way – the "smart way", she'd told him one time, "where you get a backbone for this sort of thing".

That wasn't particularly comforting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So they're okay then?"

"Yeah."

"I can't _believe_ they took this long to remember us."

"Ruki, honey…could you please stop doing that?"

Ruki Makino stopped pacing, turned and planted her hands on her hip, tilted her head and regarded her mother with an annoyed look. "We could be sitting targets," Ruki flared. "I wish we could stop waiting and just _do_ something!"

"Do what, exactly?" Rumiko motioned for Ruki to sit down, but her daughter ignored her and went back to pacing.

"I don't know…! Something. Anything."

"We're not in a position to do anything," Alice chimed up, calm as usual. She was sitting daintily on the floor, petting Dobermon. "This is probably the safest location at the moment and moving would compromise it."

Ruki huffed an impatient sigh and finally flopped down next to Renamon. Alice and her infernal _logic_! "We can't stay here forever. This place has only the most basic of stuff we need, and that's putting it nicely. The only thing it really has going for it is we're surrounded by concrete."

"It had to be defensible," Dobermon rumbled, his ears twitching in pleasure under Alice's skillful caresses. "Besides, you humans are far too finicky about your personal hygiene. It's no wonder you're so suspectible to diseases in the first place; your immune systems are under-worked."

Alice must have found something funny about that, for she cracked the barest beginnings of an actual smile, the corners of her lips turning up for a second. Ruki was surprised. The smile actually made Alice look alive and happy for the brief moment it crossed her face.

"I never thought I'd hear _you_ telling me _I'm_ too clean for my own good, Dobermon," Alice said.

Dobermon's pointed ears flicked forward. "I never thought I would be in this position, myself. Don't get too used to it. Anyway," he said, sobering up, "the important thing is we're safe here. We can transfer to another evacuation point later and have this as a backup."

"He's right," Rumiko said. She paused. "…I wonder how the Matsudas are doing?"

Ruki exchanged looks with Renamon. From what they had heard from the Lees, the attempts to get into contact with the Matsudas hadn't been entirely successful. They could be just ignoring the phone (they would, from what Jenrya told her when he tried warning them) or something could have happened to them. She tried not to think of the latter.

She glanced around at their little shelter. It was situated in some kind of blocky half-tunnel – it went deep for almost a quarter of a mile, red emergency lights flickering along the floor, but ended at a sudden dead end. There was a strong metal gate at the front that they found they could lock from the inside with a length of chain, as well as an emergency door leading to the outside toward the back so they wouldn't be trapped. Rumiko tried to make it as comfortable as she could, but there were only so much candles and a mattress laden with comforters could do.

Ruki decided she didn't care much for sleeping outdoors.

The issue of bathing and the bathroom had been the biggest problem. They were lucky that they were near some kind of abandoned gym, although it was just far enough that Rumiko insisted that if anyone needed to go, they _had_ to be escorted. No arguments, no complaining, just do as she said. With each passing day, Ruki was continually surprised by her mother's strength: the model proved to have a far better head on her shoulders than Ruki had thought. She tackled each problem head-on - whether it was sleeping arrangements, bathroom breaks at ungodly hours or just trying to keep up the general morale of the little group.

Ruki hated to admit it, but she was _impressed_.

The problem was figuring out how to admit that to her mother.

They saw some people wandering around a few days ago. Rumiko even talked to a few. Most didn't seem to know where to go, one warned her to stay away from the market several streets over – apparently the owner was perched on the roof with a shotgun, guarding the place from would-be looters – and none at all knew when help was coming. By now, the numbers of the lost were dwindling. The air was still filled with ash (the sky always seemed to weep these days; they had a choice of gray ash and downpours of rain). From what they heard from the others passing by, it sounded like Shinjuku hadn't been hit as hard as other areas of Tokyo.

Ruki didn't have to look up to know the sky still had that faint, blue tint to it.

Odaiba.

She was almost certain that the earthquake was caused by whatever was going on in the harbor in Odaiba. Strange things were happening these days and she convinced herself they were linked. Zudomon appeared right before all this other stuff started happening. He had to play a part in it, and anyway, she agreed with Renamon – another encounter with him was necessary, inevitable even.

But not alone.

Ryo and Gargomon knew something, she was sure of it. Ryo seemed to love playing that mysterious act of his – although it paled in comparison to Alice's – and Gargomon _had_ mentioned something to Jenrya about that Digimon cartoon and whatever was happening now. What they needed was time and research, both of which were in short supply.

Ruki sighed, nestling up against Renamon for another gray, ashy day. It'd help if Jenrya arrived sooner than later.

Or at all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_He was tired. More than tired: he was _exhausted

_But he had been told to stand here in the shadows, out of the way, and he wasn't to move until ordered otherwise. Like the others – he often thought of them as "brothers" in his mind, although they looked nothing like him – he obeyed wordlessly. It was his purpose, after all. Do what he was told without question or complaint. _

_All HD's were faithfully obedient to the letter and he wasn't any exception._

_The boy shifted his weight uncomfortably from one bare foot to the other, moving as little as possible. He had been standing for so long that his knees felt numb, his legs trembled and he couldn't feel much, if anything, of his feet. He was strong. He had to be to live in the Digital World. But it had been more than a full day now of just standing without any respite and he was starting to get weak. He wished the Master would take notice of him standing in the shadows, right where he left him, but no such luck. The Master was very busy with other matters, whatever they were. Maybe it had something to do with that war against the Threat, and something called _ENIAC

_The boy shivered and shifted his weight again, trying to ignore the pain in his back, arms, legs and feet. They hurt a lot. _

"_Stay here, HD4-R," hissed the Master when he'd heard whispered news. He looked excited, and his words were distant, as if the boy didn't exist. "Don't move from this spot until I get back."_

_That was sometime yesterday. _

_The boy wasn't quite sure why he was standing here. It only seemed imperative that he do so until commanded otherwise, but thinking about it he couldn't come up with a logical answer for why _exactly _he needed to stand here for hours. Was it punishment? He thought he was the Master's favorite; he almost never got punished, especially since he'd arrived so recently. He was quite convinced that he was everything to their Lord. He hoped there wasn't anything wrong – it always made his internals feel unpleasant to think that something upset or worried the Master…the Lord of the entire Future Digital World. _

_Soon to be Lord of the Past Digital World. _

_The boy watched Digimon of all shapes and sizes hurry about, scurrying past him with hardly a second glance. All of them – the boy included – served their Lord, but the boy was the only one who hadn't ever left the premises to go out and fight this Threat. Even his "brothers" had. Some of them hadn't come back. HD0-K hadn't come back from the Past (whatever that was) and the boy knew somehow he was gone for good. His face was blank, as usual, unfazed by what he had to assume was a full deletion. He would always have new brothers if the Master ran out. There was no reason to be upset if they never came back. _

_They were nothing and they returned to nothing._

_That was the first thing he and his brothers all learned. It was the purest form of truth. _

_The boy tried to amuse himself by watching the Digimon going past him, trying to guess where they were going and why, trying to calculate their trajectories to see if he could predict where they would meet. He didn't know what all the rush was, but he didn't dare ask since he hadn't been given permission for that. He _did _see two of his HD brothers walk by: one was HD1-TaiK – the tallest of all the HD's, with a shock of unmanageable thick brown hair that went every which way. The shorter of the pair was HD3-DaiM, who had short unruly hair clumped in dark spikes and a healthy tan. The only thing that stood out to the boy in the hall was HD3-DaiM liked to kick balls around for some reason. He called the game "soccer" and played it obsessively. HD1-TaiK had taken to the "game" as well once he learned it. _

_The soccer games could get fiercely competitive. Vicious even. They often injured each other when someone missed the ball and hit a leg or arm, enough to draw blood if they happened to be pulling their kicks. Once someone broke an arm; he was there for _that_. HD1-TaiK had looked down in mild surprise at the useless arm, shrugged, and went right on playing. HD3-DaiM always bragged about his latest soccer-related scars to his HD brothers._

_The boy in the hall thought they were both mad. _

_The two came strolling down the corridor with the black and white soccer ball between them, talking loudly until they noticed the other HD boy standing in the shadows. They took one look at him, understood, and turned the other way, averting their eyes, and resumed their conversation without missing a stride. He was truly to be treated as nothing until the Master returned. He wasn't hurt they acted that way toward him. He would have done the same if their positions were reversed._

_He continued to stand_, _trying not to betray his physical discomfort and fatigue as he watched them disappear around the corner._

_He was _starving_. Thirsty too. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday. Or was it yesterday morning? It was like he had been misplaced, forgotten. That…_hurt_, but it wasn't like the pain going through his legs and back. It didn't help he had this itch on his cheek that just wouldn't go away. On top of that, he could feel lightheadedness starting to wrap its claws around his brain and the corridor sometimes swam alarmingly around him as his vision tunneled in and out on occasion._

_That was rather interesting, if somewhat confusing and scary at the same time. He hadn't ever felt this way before…but then again, he had been normally well-cared for since he woke up. More than well-cared for. His brothers didn't receive half the attention he did. He was always proud of that. The Master was fond of him and always insisted on bringing him everywhere with him. It made the boy feel special. _

_Right now, however, he didn't feel very special. He felt very alone._

_Another two hours and he was swaying unsteadily on his feet. _

_He had been eyeing a Lampmon that disappeared through one of the side doors and trying to figure out what she could be up to at this time of night when he was suddenly aware of the unpleasant sensation of falling. Terror beset him. The corridor tilted sickeningly. He thought he was going to purge his stomach – the Master kept trying to teach him the proper words like "dying" instead of "deleted" and "throwing up" instead of "purging" – but there was nothing there to purge since he hadn't eaten in so long._

_Why did the Master want him to talk differently, anyway? _

"_Dying" instead of "deleted". That was hardly precise._

_The Master sometimes insisted on a stranger's name rather than the proper name of HD4-R. That wasn't very precise either. _

_He fell, and fell, and fell – _

Ryo landed, hard, on the floor.

He woke up with a violent start, blinking unseeing at the carpet and nursing the growing bump as he tried to figure out where he was now, disoriented. He recognized that ugly carpet, the bottom of what were probably the bed and the nightstand several inches away from his head. How he missed braining himself on that, he had _no_ idea. From the looks of the window, night had fallen, the room dark and still.

Ryo rolled over slowly, rubbing ruefully at the back of his head and trying to figure out how the hell he ended up on the floor. The last thing he remembered was dozing off for a bit. He stubbornly ignored that sense of unease that signaled he had another one of those nightmares, the ones that always left a bad taste in his mouth, yet strayed just out of memory's reach. Somehow he'd dozed off and now he was suddenly on the floor. That was the important thing, not some dreams that he couldn't remember. Ryo probably rolled off in his sleep, although he thought he never moved when he slept. At least that headache was gone.

Sitting up, he glanced over at the bed and raised an eyebrow. All the beds were taken, with Jenrya asleep on the one Ryo had been on. He was sprawled on the single as if he owned the whole damn thing.

It was suddenly clear what happened. Jenrya was apparently a bed-hog in his sleep. Ryo hadn't rolled off; he'd been pushed off.

Ryo shook his head, hiding a smile. If he had been friends with Jenrya, he probably would have teased him to death about this and never let him hear the end of it. But he knew he would never bring this up to the other Tamer. He didn't _hate_ Jenrya, but he had a feeling that they weren't anywhere near the kind of trust that was between "friends". They…_tolerated_ each other, Ryo supposed. Not quite enemies, but not quite real allies either. That felt somehow depressing, but the brunette didn't let himself dwell too much on it.

A yawn. He felt _much_ better than before (the sleep did wonders, nightmare or not), but it couldn't hurt to get some more in. He started to lie back down on the floor when he paused, just now noticing the sliver of light peeping from the door to the outside. There were voices, too muffled to make out, drifting through the crack. They sounded upset. Someone wasn't happy.

Curious now, Ryo crept to his feet and moved to the door, peeking out the crack. Voices drifted up from the first floor, somewhere at the base of the stairs. He inched the door open enough so that he could stand just beyond the landing, tilting his head and listening.

" – you've got to get out of here!" a woman's voice cried in open fear. "Right now!"

A man's voice now. "I don't understand. What happened?" Janyuu.

"We couldn't get anything from her when we tried talking to her," another woman's voice said, deeper this time. Suma. "Look….?

"Tadako," sniffed the first woman, sounding dangerously close to sobbing.

"Tadako, you're hurt – you're covered in blood," said Suma's voice. "Why don't we get you cleaned up – "

"_No_!" Tadako exploded. Ryo couldn't see the college student, but he could just imagine her clutching that hamster cage to her chest. He thought she'd left with Yasuo and the others. What was she doing here? What was going on?

Another sniff and Tadako shakily continued amidst a flood of tears. "There was someone called Jenrya Lee with Ryo, right?" A pause, probably Janyuu nodding. "He's got to get out of here! _Now!_ He'll be k-killed like the others if he stays!"

Ryo tensed at this, feeling goose bumps rising. He resisted the urge to wake Jenrya up, remaining kneeling at the landing as he continued to eavesdrop.

"What're you talking about?" Janyuu's voice rose in pitch. "What the _hell_ do you mean my son is going to get _killed_?"

"A m-monster's coming to get him. _He_ said so, after he killed….killed the others…" and Tadako dissolved into sobs.

A monster? Ryo suddenly felt an odd chill running down his back. The monster was probably a Digimon, trying to track them. He listened in as Tadako managed to describe the creature in question in between her sobs. It took several minutes because she kept breaking down and for a second, Ryo wished, irritated, that she'd get her act together and just spit it out. When she finally did, Ryo froze. The Digimon matched exactly Black Growlmon's description.

They were in trouble. Serious trouble. Without a word, Ryo slipped back into the room behind him, changing quickly into a fresh pair of clothing and prodding Jenrya's shoulder insistently.

"Jenrya, wake up! Wake up!"

The other boy moaned into the pillow. Ryo continued pushing insistently at his shoulder. "We don't have time for this, we've got to get out of here!" Ryo said louder and gave Jenrya a non-too-gentle shove. Jenrya sputtered in sleepy indignation and rolled over, finally awake.

"W…what's wrong?" he stared up at Ryo in a daze.

"Your big friend's onto us," answered Ryo, tight-lipped. "We've got to leave. _Now_."

Jenrya blinked at him. "What -?"

The other boy simply stared at him meaningfully. Jenrya paled in horror as he suddenly realized just who they were talking about.

"Black Growlmon? He _found_ us?"

"Sounds like it. He's following us somehow."

"He's tracking us," Terriermon chirped up, lighting on Jenrya's shoulder. His little round face was serious. "Probably through our scent."

Ryo raised an incredulous eyebrow. "He's that good? It's been snowing and there's all this ash in the air…"

"He's _good_," Terriermon said quietly. "And he used to be able to track almost anything Takato asked, if he put his mind to it. I'd say we've got his full attention."

"Wonderful," Ryo muttered. "What is it with you guys and attracting trouble? Now we've got a stalker."

Jenrya seemed to jump at little at the word "stalker", but Ryo didn't appear to notice. He swept about the room, doing everything he could to pack up. He was shouldering a duffle bag with his uninjured hand when Janyuu barged through the door. He glanced at Ryo, frowning, surprised to see everyone up and ready to leave already.

"Ryo, I'd lecture you about how you shouldn't eavesdrop, but we don't have the time." Janyuu had Shuichon in his arm, miraculously asleep. Reika joined him. "We're leaving. Jenrya, you're explaining this on the way."

They trooped out, Jenrya hurrying to catch up to his father. Ryo hung back as they descended the stairs. Suma and Tadako were sitting on the curb, the larger woman's arms around the college student's shaking shoulders. Suma's eyes met and they hardened, slightly. Ryo glanced away – they had overstayed their welcome.

"– we… don't know what happened to Guilmon – Takato's partner Digimon – to make him this way," Jenrya was saying to Janyuu in hushed tones. "He just disappeared. When we saw him again, he was suddenly attacking us for no reason. It's like he's someone else!"

"Something's wrong with him," Terriermon said from Jenrya's shoulder. "He wouldn't ever do anything like this if it was under his own free will. He was saying weird things too last time we saw him – they didn't make any sense. And he freaked out when he got hit by some kind of EMP."

"EMP?" Janyuu gaped. "How - ?"

"Long story," Jenrya sighed. "The EMP knocked down Terriermon, but Guilmon – I mean Black Growlmon – he stumbled around. His color kept changing from black to red."

Janyuu frowned, but he was stopped as Tadako, glancing up from her sheet of unkempt hair, suddenly lurched at the group and grabbed at his elbow. She was frantic.

"He'll follow you!" she sobbed. "He'll come here and kill everyone, just for fun!"

Janyuu shot a worried look at Suma, and tried to pry the girl's fingers off him. She was remarkably strong, hanging on stubbornly. She squirmed frantically as Suma went to pull her off. "Let go of me! Let _go_!" Tadako cried. "You don't understand! _He's going to get you_!"

Reika stepped forward. She tilted her head, hands on her hips as she regarded the younger woman. Suma stopped for a second trying to haul Tadako off Janyuu.

"Tadako, listen," Reika said. "What do you want us to do? What do _you_ want?"

Tadako peered at her shakily through her ragged bangs, cheeks tear streaked. It seemed to take a lot of courage to continue. "…Take me with you," she whispered. "Please."

"We can't," Ryo replied bluntly. Realizing everyone was staring at him, he tried to soften his words. "Tadako, go back. You should go watch over that Chanchan gerbil of yours."

"Hamster," Tadako corrected him automatically. She sniffled. "I want to make sure the same thing doesn't happen here…a-as it did back there."

"It won't," Reika flicked a glance at Terriermon, not quite frowning. "Jenrya and the other's have protection from this…monster."

"I'm coming," Tadako looked pleadingly at Janyuu, then at Jenrya. "I have to."

_ We don't have _time_ for this. _Ryo couldn't help an impatient scowl as he watched Janyuu take Tadako aside. The college student would only slow them down: their progress was already hampered by Reika, although at least she had a decent head on her shoulders. _She_ was controlled and acted responsible. Besides, traveling with them was hardly the definition of safe, especially if Black Growlmon was tracking them. Tadako would be safer and better off if she just stayed behind.

Reika stood next to him, Yamaki's laptop under her arm. She glanced at him. "Worried?" she suddenly asked.

"_I _think we should get going. I've seen Black Growlmon in person, it wasn't pretty."

"…So where's your partner?" Reika asked. "I see Jenrya has one. The Makino girl and Matsuda boy do as well. So where's yours?"

Ryo bristled, but managed to keep his anger in check. Reika was starting to remind him of a grown-up Alice. "I don't have one," he replied, unable to keep the testy edge from his voice. "Digimon aren't really my favorite conversation subject, okay?"

Reika blinked at this, surprised. She studied at him for a long moment with an appraising, calculating expression, for the first time taking a good hard look at the boy. She seemed to come to a decision. "…if we're still alive after all this," she lowered her voice so the others couldn't hear, "and if you still feel that way, come visit Tokyo City Hall sometime," she said, holding up two fingers to mimic the twin towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. "Ask for Yamaki Mitsuo or myself."

"You want _me_ in Hypnos?" Ryo asked, startled.

"You clearly have expertise. You're too young legally to work," Reika shrugged, "but then again, Hypnos isn't a legal organization to begin with. Still, you would have to be at least fifteen to work even for _us, _even illegally. Think of this as…an invitation. I can't ensure you'll get in, but once everything is over…if and when Yamaki gets back, I know he would be considerably interested in what you know, at the very least. Your help would be greatly appreciated once we've taken back Hypnos from the Wild Ones."

Ryo looked away. "…Thanks. I'll…I'll remember that." He sounded for once unsure of himself.

Janyuu came back as Suma led an exhausted Tadako away. "Well, that's solved," Janyuu said. "…I guess we better get going."

"We've got to double back a bit," said Terriermon. "Black Growlmon's following us by scent and our smell is all over this place; we need to backtrack and give him a fresher trail. We want him following _us_, not ending up at the hospital, where it's full of people."

Jenrya bit his lip, thinking. "Do you think that will work?"

"He'll follow us," Terriermon said with chilling certainty. "You can count on it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How are the repairs?"

"As well as can be expected, given what we have to work with. We're helping out with evacuations and rescues with the other departments in the building."

"I'm quite frankly amazed we've had to sink this low – rescuing _humans_."

Vajramon's darkly furred bull's face scrunched up in a frown of distaste. He was lying comfortably amid a make-shift nest of pillows, cushions and ripped pages from books, hooves curled behind him. Kincaid cuddled in his strong arms, pressing her face against his heavily muscled chest, resting for the moment. It felt good, being together like this for once. She was surprised that Vajramon – she had to remember he couldn't be called "Nagamora" anymore – allowed her to be this close. She supposed it must be his irritation at being cooped up like this; back in the Digital World, he seemed entirely content to avoid touching her, as if she was made of glass.

"Well," Kincaid said lazily, "if we don't rescue them, we won't have stock for the Golems and the Juggernaut. Besides, we need people to operate Hypnos until then. Can't operate it if everyone's dead."

"True."

"At least this time I have good news. We can try to move you outside in the confusion. I can't make you another shift-change ring though, so I'm afraid you can't masquerade as a human – sorry," Kincaid apologized. "How's the hand?"

Vajramon looked down at his injury. The finger that Yamaki Mitsuo had blown off in the failed assassination attempt was as healed as it was going to get. It didn't even hurt, although it was humbling to think a mere _human_ could do that to him. "Fine. I think. I got arrogant; I paid for my arrogance and pride. I _knew_ he was going to attempt something like that sooner or later. I assumed he was weaker than he really was."

"I still don't see why you chose him of all humans – you had to know he was going to be volatile."

The Ultimate heaved one of his rumbling sighs. His hind legs shifted in the comfortable nest. "_That_ was partially why I chose him. He had a history of letting his emotions get the better of him – heart thinking before the brain, I believe the saying is here. Easier to control if they're not thinking. He was hardly an idiot; as humans go, he was very intelligent. There were records of him being a certifiable genius with programming and electronics overall, though he spent most of the time wasting his talents at some other menial human job at the time. But the main reason I chose him was because he survived a Purge."

Kincaid hadn't known that. "_No_," she breathed, excited.

"Four years ago, we were tipped off by an Illegal wanting to immigrate back to the Digital World. Something about a human paired with another Illegal Digimon. We were to arrange passage back to the Digital World for this informer and ignore her transgressions in exchange for this extremely valuable information. I was already here in the Real World, so I was to deal with this little problem."

"_Illegals_!" snorted Kincaid in disdain. "They think they can do anything once they've run off without Council approval to the Real World. As if the laws of the Digital World suddenly don't apply!"

"Quite right, my dear. Although in this case, these illegal emigrants proved useful," Vajramon looked down at his companion fondly, smoothing her purple hair carefully with a large hand. "Anyway. I had news one of my former subordinates planned to biomerge in the area since his family was scheduled to follow, so I had him take care of the pests while he was there. He…got a little out of hand and got carried away. Insisted on playing with them for too long. He hadn't finished off Yamaki when I got there. I spared him since I saw a use for him."

"And?"

"He played the part almost perfectly – I couldn't have asked for a better pawn. He built Hypnos for us from the ground up. With Hypnos, he practically _gave_ us the key to this World. He will go down in human history as the worst traitor ever known. If he's lucky, he will go down in Digimon history as the greatest human ever known: an exception to the rule, of course," Vajramon smiled slowly, revealing a row of gleaming fangs. "Losing a finger in exchange for what he has done for us all these years is a small sacrifice."

"Only you could make your own maiming actually sound _noble_."

"It all depends on your approach," Vajramon replied smartly. "I find optimism is a powerful tool."

Kincaid tilted her head back, gazing up at her companion. The Founder blinked serenely down the length of his bull's snout. "Try it sometime," Vajramon said. "You might find it gets better results than that fatalism of yours."

Kincaid only laughed.

"You'll never change," Vajramon offered her a little smile, fangs peeking out. "You amaze me sometimes: you're one of the most infuriatingly flighty creatures I have had the pleasure of knowing."

"Anything less would be an insult to you," Kincaid smirked.

"…So, where's your servant; the charming little fellow always tailing you? I quite liked him, even if he _was_ rather impulsive."

Kincaid's smirk dropped. The Deceiver turned serious. "I sent Kaminmon out on a search a few days ago; he should be back soon once he finds our target. We have control of the Juggernaut's Digimon and I want him actually being put to a _use_ – he could be helping us track down any illegal Bio-merges and assist us in legal ones, rather than wandering aimlessly around the city. Black Growlmon could be dangerous, so – "

"So you're worried about Kaminmon?" Vajramon finished for her.

"He's proven himself time and time again, don't get me wrong," Kincaid chewed her lip, glancing out one of the broken windows. "But we've never encountered anything like this Black Growlmon mutation. We don't know what his limits are or how sane he even still is after the Juggernaut's influence. I might be 'flighty', but I don't like it when my servants are injured or deleted. Especially not when we're dealing with some human's upstart slave." Kincaid scowled. "I won't stand for one of _their_ kind causing problems again, not after we spent all that trouble with the last bunch."

"I…could go after him, you know," Vajramon rumbled nonchalantly. "A chance to stretch my legs, if you will – all this sitting around is dreadfully boring. Gets on the nerves. Even if this Black Growlmon is powerful, he won't be able to stand up to _me_."

"With all the confusion with the fires…yes, it might work for now," Kincaid mused. "If you could help with the search, I'd be indebted to you."

Vajramon gave a rare, teasing grin. Reaching around, he delicately tilted Kincaid toward him, careful not to injure her in his large hands. His long tongue flicked out and drew a long, possessively wet trail from her chin up to her cheek, voice thick. "You _know_ how I prefer my debts repaid, my dear."

"Lecherous as always."

"Only to a choice few."

"I believe they call that a 'pervert' here."

Vajramon smiled, fangs showing. "Well then it's a good thing we're not humans, no? Their silly little moral dilemmas don't apply to us."

"Point taken," Kincaid said. She held up a hand, deftly blocking Vajramon's snout from another lick. "But only after and not before. I want Kaminmon back safely and Black Growlmon at my_ heels_ before I repay that particular debt..._my dear_."

"Very well." Vajramon backed off and got to his feet, hooves clicking as he ducked his horned head from the low ceiling, muscular arms crossed over his chest. "Meet me on the roof when I get back. You want this Black Growlmon conscious or not?"

"I'm not particular – whatever gets him back in one piece."

"Consider it done."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_"We've got to split into two groups," Terriermon said. "Otherwise even those not fighting will be caught in the crossfire." _

_ "Split up!" Janyuu protested. "But – " _

_"Dad, we have to," Jenrya cut in. "I don't want you and Shuichon getting hurt. Black Growlmon's probably tracking Terriermon's or my scent. We don't want you guys getting injured on our account." _

_Ryo nodded. "He's right. We can meet up together with Ruki and the others after we've dealt with Black Growlmon." _

_Janyuu didn't have any choice. Strangely enough, Reika hadn't said anything at all – she only looked at Jenrya, Terriermon with a piercing, calculating gaze and turned away. Jenrya noticed for some reason Ryo couldn't meet the woman's eyes… _

They'd talked about something, Jenrya thought, but he had no idea what. It probably wasn't his business and anyway, he had better things to be doing…like trying _not_ to fall off his partner. Gargomon hopped over the rubble, keeping his arms high as he cleared the section of torn concrete. His passengers hung on as best they could: Ryo clinging to one elbow, Jenrya sitting on the edge of a gun-arm.

"So w-what's going to s-s-top Black Growlmon from following us t-to the hideout?" Ryo asked, his teeth chattering as Gargomon lopped along. Compared to Gargomon, riding Dobermon that one time didn't look so bad, sore spots or not – at least there hadn't been all this _bumping_. "Y'know, it's r-r-eally hard to talk w…with all this b-bouncin'!"

"Sorry," Gargomon grunted, and slowed a little, although he never stopped moving. "We need water. Lots of it. The reason he keeps tracking us is 'cause there hasn't been enough rain or snow to completely wash our scent out. Maybe hit him again with Dobermon's EMP at point-blank range – it might mess up his senses better than just water."

"I wish we didn't have to fight him again," said Jenrya. "We can't keep running like this."

Gargomon looked straight ahead. "We _will_ find a way to get him back, Jenrya. We'll find a way to talk some sense into his thick, stubborn skull, no matter what!"

"You think we're far enough that he'll find us instead of the hospital?" Jenrya asked, glancing over his shoulder. Clouds had been gathering overnight and the fires still burning painted the sky a violent wash of reds and purples. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead in irregular drum beats.

"I think so. We should start looking for a place to stand our ground," Gargomon was resolute. "Jenrya, Ryo, I need you guys to start selecting some cards for me once we get there. I don't think I can drive him back without the help."

"But I've only got one hand!" Jenrya protested.

Ryo shot him a _you're-being-retarded_ look. "Uh, so do I? Between the two of us, we've got two."

"That's not very comforting."

"Hey, unless you want to be slashing cards with a dislocated shoulder, you're going to have to put up with me helping you," Ryo retorted. "Trust me, you're better off with Option Two."

"Guys, hate to break it up," Gargomon interrupted, "but I think this is it."

They stopped in front of some kind of public fitness center – the remains of it, anyway. Fire had gutted the main structure, with the top floors collapsing into the blackened hulks of the lower ones. The ground was littered with puddles of soggy ash and muddy water. Jenrya eyed the area. There were actually a lot of places to hide, since it encompassed the main building and several relatively undamaged wings splitting off. There seemed to be an Olympic sized pool off to the side, covered with a disgusting gray film of ash and who knew what else; the Tamer was unsure if jumping into that mess would help get rid of Black Growlmon, but it was still worth noting.

Jenrya carefully slid off Gargomon's arm as Ryo did the same.

"Give me your cards," Ryo said. He held out his good hand and took the cards Jenrya offered. He immediately began, somehow, to quickly flip through them one-handed, unaware of Jenrya's open staring for several seconds. He looked up. "What?"

"How-?"

"Anyone can do it if they practice," said Ryo, going back to looking through the cards. Occasionally he would stop and gesture for Jenrya to take the one on top. "Anyway, you get injured enough, you start picking up how to do stuff without using both hands. Useful trick. Might want to give it a go in the future."

"I'm not ambidextrous, Ryo."

"Me neither – I'm a leftie, actually. Still, you don't want to be a real cripple if something comes up," one more card offered and Ryo snapped the rest of the deck together and handed it back. "The rest of these're useless against Black Growlmon."

"Thanks," Jenrya muttered, nettled. He'd spent a long time getting that deck together.

"Any plans here? I don't think the No Plan idea worked very well last time," Gargomon said.

Jenrya thought quickly. Black Growlmon seemed to favor wide open spaces: it enabled full use of his claws, arm blades and that white fire of his. If they could get the high ground or get him someplace where he couldn't maneuver very well, they could get the advantage, since Gargomon was smaller. _He_ could always go back to Terriermon if he needed to squeeze out. Even if Black Growlmon somehow de-digivolved as well, as Guilmon he still would be considerably larger than Terriermon. _Maybe we can tire him out._ Hit and run tactics instead of openly engaging him.

That just might work. But what if they actually won? What happened afterward?

_Don't think about it_, Jenrya ordered himself _Just concentrate on the now. _

"Okay, here's what I think we should do," Jenrya said. "We hit and run. Keep him in enclosed spaces so he can't fight too well. Last time he had the open ground, so we've got to trick him into trapping himself somewhere where his size will work against him. Maybe one of the gym wings. Gargomon, focus on tiring him down."

Ryo gave a cynical snort. "And what about _us_?" he raised an eyebrow, black eyes glittering. "You've got to be in range to have a card slash take effect, first of all. And if I remember right, Black Growlmon was perfectly fine with attacking _you_. You can't just fight this battle as if it'll be the typical Digimon against Digimon fight. You've got to assume he could change targets and start going for _us_ at any time."

"He's right," Gargomon said. "What's the range of a D-Arc anyway?"

Ryo rattled off some general guess at an estimate. He added with a shrug, "It'll be too far for you to hear what Jenrya says when he does a slash, I think."

"So long as you guys are out of reach of Black Growlmon, I'll make do with whatever changes happen." Gargomon said. "I'll wing it if I suddenly grow another Brave Shield or something. Whatever happens, I don't want you running in after me, got it?"

Ryo nodded, but Jenrya bit his lip, looking rebellious. "Jenrya, you too. I mean it," Gargomon frowned at him until his Tamer reluctantly nodded.

Jenrya followed Ryo to the gym. There was some kind of overgrown shed off to the side, pilled high with boxes and such, and connected to the rest of the structure with a high catwalk. It would be in range and what was better, they could probably hide for a bit there while Black Growlmon fought with Gargomon. If they got targeted – which they would, Ryo said – they could run across to the main section and help lure their opponent into the trap. It was better then running around on the ground like last time. If this went well, they would be in control of the flow of battle than Black Growlmon.

Once on the roof, they settled down.

And waited.

A light mist of drizzle began to fall when Black Growlmon finally arrived with the dawn.

"Don't," Ryo hissed a warning, feeling Jenrya shifting from his position lying next to him in their hiding spot. "Now's not to time to go playing hero."

Jenrya reluctantly settled back down.

They watched as Black Growlmon came into the sodden parking lot, stopping short as he suddenly fixed eyes on Gargomon. Gargomon was saying something, but they couldn't make it out from this distance. Whatever he said was lost. Black Growlmon suddenly charged at the other Champion, roaring something and it was all Gargomon could do to dance backward out of the way, raising his gun arms and firing off several spurts. Several rounds tore into the Shadow's arms and legs, but none were enough to stop him from another charge, his head swinging as he suddenly skidded mid-charged, turned and tried to crush Gargomon's ribs with his tail.

"Okay, let's do it," Jenrya said. Ryo had to give him credit – he managed to keep focused and voice steady this time around. "Got the card?"

"Naturally?"

They managed to get the card into the slot of the D-Arc, with Jenrya holding onto it and Ryo guiding the STR-MAX card with his good hand. It sliced through with the typical flare of green.

"Wow, I'm surprised that worked," Ryo remarked. Jenrya shot him an _are-you-kidding-me_ look. "I thought it mattered who held the card and the D-Arc, but I guess it doesn't matter who holds the card. Guess we lucked out this time. Learn something new everyday."

Jenrya resisted the urge to strangle Ryo.

Across the way, Gargomon back-peddled madly away from Black Growlmon. He suddenly stiffed as the card slash began to take effect and unexpectedly charged at the other Digimon the next second – the Shadow growled in surprise and lunged forward to meet him, only to find his jaws eagerly snapping at empty air. Jenrya watched as Gargomon pulled a surprisingly graceful flip in the air and landed with a devastating double-kick at the side of his opponent's head. Black Growlmon's snout snapped to the side and he went rocketing backward as if he weighed absolutely _nothing_; rather than simply hitting the wall, he _demolished_ a hole right through it upon impact. Gargomon bounded after him, gun arms firing more spurts of shots in after the debris cloud spewing out from the hole.

Jenrya finally noticed his mouth was open. He hurriedly closed it.

"What _was_ that card?" he asked as they hurried got up and moved a little closer so they could actually keep an eye on the battle. "I've never seen Gargomon hit anything with that kind of power."

"STR-MAX," Ryo replied. "Nice card if you ever need to beat the living crap outta someone in melee combat."

They watched grimly as part of the gym's roof abruptly bubbled upward with some kind of impact, the cracked concrete buckling up violently as if it was boiling water. There was a flare of white – fire – from the trashed lobby that was suddenly cut off as another rumble sounded. Black Growlmon suddenly flew out through a new hole, rubble exploding around him, and went skidding, powerful hind legs scrabbling and clawing for purchase. With a defiant roar, the Shadow stood to his full height and snarled defiantly at the hole he'd come barreling out from, claws spread as he snorted twin jets of flame from his snout.

"Damn," Ryo muttered under his breath. "He's out in the open again."

Gargomon came charging out, ducking under the gout of blazing white hot fire spurting at him, and delivered a brutal punch aimed at Black Growlmon's chest, right as the other Champion was already dodging to the side to get more space. The blow grazed his shoulder instead of his chest, and wrenched the upper arm back with a violent _pop_ that Jenrya heard this far out. He winced. Black Growlmon's left claw hung there uselessly and for a moment, the Shadow looked down at it in surprise, as if he couldn't quite understand why he couldn't seem to lift it. Pure rage clouded his face as the realization sunk in.

Keeping one snake's eye on Gargomon, who had taken a step back to gauge his opponent's reaction, Black Growlmon bent his wedge-shaped head down, grasped the shoulder with his fangs and gave it a vicious twist until it _popped_ right back where it was supposed to be. The arm was functional again. Small green data particles from the self-inflicted bite wounds drifted up. They dissolved in the air.

Jenrya felt a little nauseous, but swallowed it away as best he could. They couldn't give Black Growlmon the chance to discover where Gargomon was getting the help from. They had to keep him on the move and too distracted to get a good sniff of the air. Jenrya glanced at Ryo, "Another card!" Ryo put a new card into the D-Arc slot – it was a strange choice, Jenrya thought, before it went into the reader, but Ryo was already pushing it further in before he could get a good look.

They slashed it together.

Gargomon briefly glowed blue one second.

In the next second, he simply wasn't _there_.

He was standing right next to Black Growlmon.

The Shadow started to whirl around, but instead received a powerful one-two of punches to the side, sending the Champion stumbling backward and crashing into a parked car, flattening it under his weight as he went down. Jenrya frowned – Gargomon was pretty much trouncing Black Growlmon up and down the parking lot with far more ease than he'd expected, especially after their last disastrous encounter with him. Watching the fight draw out – it was increasingly one-sided – Jenrya suddenly felt sick.

Something about this whole fight wasn't right. If Gargomon kept up like this, he'd end up deleting Black Growlmon.

He glanced at Ryo. Ryo watched the battle with that black raptor's gaze of his, watching the Shadow staggering back under the merciless onslaught. It was a miracle he was even still conscious.

With a start, Jenrya realized that Ryo was playing to _win_, not playing to incapacitate. It was like getting hit by a bucket of cold water. Winning could very well mean deletion – it explained why Ryo had given him that strange card combination he'd never seen before.

"I-I've got to stop this," Jenrya jumped to his feet. They wanted to defeat Black Growlmon, not kill him.

Ryo glared up. "Get back down, you're in full view."

"That card combination's going to delete him!"

Ryo was silent. He didn't look angry. Instead he looked away, back toward the battle, his face just as carefully blank as his voice.

"Jenrya, you've got to look at the big picture. If we keep pussyfooting around him all the time, he'll just keep stalking you and eventually he'll get lucky – it could be _you_ next time. Or your dad. Or your little sister."

"You don't know that."

"You want to wait to find out?" Ryo didn't look at him. "I'm sorry." He sounded like he meant it.

"Black Growlmon's a friend," Jenrya clenched his fists as his side. "He still is."

The brunette sighed. "I didn't think friends would do what he did: you heard Tamayo. He'll kill you in an instant if you give him the chance, friend or not. I'm not taking that chance even if you don't agree with me."

"You don't know anything about friends," Jenrya hissed. "You've never had any, have you?"

_That_ hit home.

Stunned, Ryo stared at him, black eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something, seemed to be unable come up with the words, and closed it after a long moment. He blinked a few times and then looked away quickly. It was the closest Jenrya had ever seen him come to crying, although he didn't see any tears escaping. The brunette swallowed, for the first time looking his age rather than the cynical, too-old boy from before.

"I'm sorry," Ryo repeated, voice strangely tight. "You can't count on friends if you expect to survive, Jenrya. I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you that."

Jenrya almost felt sorry for him, but then reminded himself that Ryo had been ready to delete Black Growlmon knowing full well the consequences of those cards. He made angrily for the ladder to take him back to the ground.

"Wait."

Jenrya turned, glaring. Ryo met the glare, almost subdued, although he stood up straight under the glare.

"You're not going by yourself. I'm coming with you."

Angry words were on the tip of Jenrya's tongue, but somehow he swallowed them.

"Fine," he said instead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They couldn't afford to wait very much longer. Black Growlmon, unthinkably, was actually losing – to a human's slave, no less, to make matters even more humiliating.

Vajramon felt sorry for the poor former-slave; he truly did. But still, he was reckless and he was honestly letting his thirst for blood get the better of him, rather than letting common sense do its job. Clearly Black Growlmon was outmatched – for the moment – because of whatever those infernal humans had used to aid the human-slave, yet he continued to fight rather than counting his losses. Next to Vajramon, Kaminmon pawed impatiently at the ground with a hoof.

"Soon," Vajramon assured his companion, blocking him with an outstretched arm.

He hadn't expected Kaminmon to be easy to find, especially in a city this big, but following Black Growlmon's trail of new destruction saved him the trouble of having to concern himself too much with this task – in fact, it made it surprisingly easy, especially considering the fact that he'd thought he'd have to spend a few days trying to track down Kincaid's servant. Find the trail and surely he'd find Kaminmon not far behind. Luckily he'd managed to catch up to him before Kaminnon tried to take on the rogue Digimon _and_ the humans and their slave. They were now waiting on a roof top overlooking the wreckage of the human gym, giving them a good vantage point of the grounds, although the roofs of the gym itself and the little sheds attached were obscured by debris and general garbage left over from the ground shakes.

Where were the humans? Gargomon was here, which meant his human master had to be in range to actually use those infernal cards to turn the tide of the battle, but scanning the area, Vajramon could see neither hide nor hair of the little beast. He squinted his eyes. Probably hiding or concealed.

Finally wizened up, he supposed. Humans in the past always had this ridiculous tendency to stand out in the open and yell orders to their slaves, which only made them into a _wonderfully_ easy target.

They watched as Black Growlmon get slammed into a chain link fence, crashing through it and tearing it to shreds. Kaminmon strained forward impatiently.

Vajramon held up his clawed hand.

"Go."

Kaminmon's snout widened into a grotesque grin.

"With _pleasure_, my Lord."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenrya was about to run out to call off Gargomon when he suddenly found himself shoved against the wall, Ryo standing too close for comfort. He was about to demand what that was for – Ryo was _really_ starting to get on his bad side today – when the brunette raised a finger to his lips and shook his head furiously. He continued to keep Jenrya shielded, pressing hard toward the wall as he glanced over his shoulder. Whatever it was finally passed as the brunette let up, pulling away from Jenrya, who finally could breathe after being crushed against the wall.

"We've got company," Ryo hissed. "Look."

He backed away enough to let Jenrya peer out, just barely, around the corner. Jenrya froze as he spotted this newcomer – it was that ugly horse-like creature from before with Garurumon, now cantering toward the two combatants with a ghastly smile. Gargomon's gunfire lifted from Black Growlmon to Kaminmon.

Ryo pushed him back and peeked a bit further around the corner. Black Growlmon looked down for the count, his massive bulk moving weakly as he tried to roll over. But Kaminmon wasn't even interested in fighting him; instead he went for Gargomon, changing his canter into a full blown charge with his fanged head bent down, sharpened hooves clattering harshly on the pavement. With a snap the ragged wings on his head flared open, glowing a sinister, shimmering blue.

Gargomon leveled his gun arms, the barrels starting to rotate.

"_HYBRIS Tear!"_

Kaminmon's wings flashed.

Space seemed to simply rip apart in a neat little hole.

And suddenly Kaminmon simply wasn't _there_. Another tear sliced down neatly right behind Gargomon, and the enemy Champion came rearing through, delivering a set of stunning kicks with his forelegs that bowled Gargomon over before he had a chance to react. Kaminmon was on top of him before he could get up, his wicked set of fangs snapping only inches away from his face, hooves scrabbling for purchase. It was all Gargomon could do to keep him from actually connecting – Kaminmon had the superior ground, but his hooves on the pavement kept slipping, unable to give him enough grounding to use it to his true advantage.

Ryo was already shoving a card at him. "Here!"

"Why should I trust you?" Jenrya spat back.

"I'm better than nothing," Ryo said. "And nothing's all you got right now. _Take it_!"

Jenrya scowled but did as he was told…but he made sure to take a good, long look at the card before slashing it.

Feathers exploded into the air with a flash of light, causing Kaminmon to rear back with a spitting snarl of pain and surprise. Gargomon found himself in the air with a set of massive wings – and now with the superior advantage of height. He turned the tables, peppering the Digimon below with gun fire and forcing him to seek cover. Jenrya had to grudgingly admit that Ryo's card choice had been sound, even if he _had_ been trying to delete Black Growlmon earlier.

Gargomon still had control of the air with the wings of light – Kaminmon's own wings were too small to afford him any real height. The most he could manage was a leaping lunge, fangs snapping at the Champion flying just out of his reach. Gargomon flitted out of reach and out of sight, his opponent snapping at his heels. A diving, brutal kick sent Kaminmon sprawling heavily.

Jenrya was starting to think them evenly matched when the sword came spinning out of nowhere.

It clipped right through Gargomon's wings.

Jenrya threw up his arm to protect his eyes as the wings exploded in a burst of light, riddling the battlefield with a rain of glowing feathers. Gargomon dropped down, hit heavily, and went down hard.

It was then that the Ultimate Digimon came casually into view.

Jenrya felt pure _fear_ suddenly strike him. It rooted him to the spot. He'd heard from Ruki and Ryo how it felt to be near an Ultimate when they'd seen Zudomon, but a part of Jenrya at the time passed it off as exaggeration.

All of it was true.

This Ultimate was nowhere near the massive size of Zudomon, yet something about his bearing struck Jenrya as utterly _terrifying_. Surely he had to be able to hear Jenrya's heart beating frantically, or the way Ryo's breathing went rapid and shallow. His D-Arc chose now to inform him helpfully that this Ultimate was Vajramon; Jenrya was just terrified that he'd be able to hear his D-Arc's electronic voice from all the way over there. The thought of that terrible head turning in their direction made him tremble.

Vajramon strolled past them, one hand held up almost lazily. A limp, bulky black body drifted behind him in the air, floating along like some kind of twisted puppet on strings. Jenrya covered his mouth with a trembling hand, almost gasping out-loud.

Black Growlmon.

The Shadow looked completely out of it to Jenrya, his snake's eyes half-lidded now as he drifting along behind Vajramon. Next to Jenrya, Ryo stiffened, his black eyes wide.

Kaminmon backed off from Gargomon, dropped down into an impromptu bow of respect, and held his position.

Vajramon came to a halt. "So this is one of the new rogues," he said, huge horns dipping as he glanced down at the fallen Digimon, snout turning to one side and then another. "Can't say I'm impressed with this new generation."

Gargomon glared. "I know you."

"Oh, I'd be surprised if you didn't," said Vajramon, folding his huge arms over his muscular chest. Black Growlmon bobbed lazily behind him. "Even a rogue like you would be smart enough to know who helped shape a better world around him – even if he _is_ an ingrate about it."

"There's nothing to be grateful for."

"Spoken like a true traitor."

"_You_ betrayed the Sovereigns."

"Ah, but that's where your brilliant skills of deduction are dead wrong," Vajramon smiled, revealing a full set of fangs. "The Sovereigns fully back the World Council, you see - I _do_ believe it's difficult to 'betray' them when we've been blessed with their advice on multiple counts."

Gargomon gaped at him. "You're lying."

"Hardly," Vajramon met eyes with Kaminmon, "We're done here."

Kaminmon's tuft of mane bristled with anticipation. "What about him?"

"He's useless unless we have his human master," Vajramon regarded Gargomon with a pitying look. "You won't be free unless you're act without their influence, you know. Despite your transgressions, we would be willing to give you a full pardon for your crimes if you turn yourself and your master in to us voluntarily. This is the only time I will offer amnesty...I suggest you take it."

This answer clearly didn't please Kaminmon. He snorted, sending out a gust of steam in the icy air, and pawed at the ground with a hoof, making it clear he wanted nothing more than to resume his battle with the other Digimon and be done with it.

"This is the way of the Digital World as it is today," Vajramon continued. He looked down his snout with a stately frown. "The era of the Purges wouldn't have seen me offering amnesty to a traitor such as yourself. However, we today are much more civilized than times past. The question is whether you are ready to make that adaptation as the majority of our world has."

Next to him, Kaminmon made another angry snort, but wisely didn't interrupt.

Vajramon turned to go. "You _could_ be a valuable asset to our cause, Gargomon. Much as my associate here would like to prolong your human's suffering for as long as he can, I ensure that yours will be given a mercifully swift and painless execution if you accept the offer of amnesty."

Gargomon gaped at him, unable to believe that they were apparently discussing his own Tamer's death as if it was inevitable and a thing of little importance.

"It's the humane thing to do," Vajramon went on, "Otherwise I'm afraid I won't have much control for the method of execution – Kaminmon here, among others, would be more than happy to do the honors, perhaps with less consideration for mercy than I. Because we are civilized, I will give you a grace period to decide and prepare both yourself and your…_master_," Vajramon made a vague gesture of distaste, "for what is inevitable."

Vajramon trotted past the fallen Digimon, Kaminmon shooting Gargomon a murderous look before dogging after the Ultimate with a swish of his tail, the unconscious Black Growlmon bobbing in the air after the two. Kaminmon's wings flared once more and they disappeared through the portal. Gone.

Jenrya rushed to Gargomon, stumbling over the uneven ground. He knelt down next to him.

"There's no way I'm turning you in!" Gargomon blurted, almost on the verge of tears. "You _know_ I wouldn't!"

Shaken, the Tamer dropped to his knees next to his partner. "I-I know."

He brought his good arm around and hugged Gargomon as best he could. The Digimon was trembling slightly.

Someone cast a shadow over them.

"We should get out of here," said Ryo, sounding subdued. "No telling if they change their minds and come back."

Jenrya ignored Ryo, focusing on his partner. "I trust you, Gargomon," he said. "You wouldn't turn me in."

Gargomon steeled himself, drawing strength through his partner's words. "I won't let them take you," he said, deadly quiet. "They will try and _they will fail_."

Jenrya went stock still for a second. He hadn't ever heard Gargomon talk like that before, and it occurred to him that his partner really meant he would delete them in whatever way he could rather than let Jenrya die, even use methods like Ryo had. He tried to remember his partner as the joker he'd been before, back before Takato had vanished, before Guilmon became warped and twisted, and found he had difficulty remembering. Trying to shake off a vague feeling of discomfort, Jenrya urged Gargomon to his feet.

"Come on, up you go," Jenrya grunted, half-pushing under one arm. The Champion got to his feet heavily.

Ryo was glancing toward the direction Vajramon and Kaminmon had vanished with their captive. "I think we should find out where they're going."

"What, so you can finish him off?" Jenrya scowled.

Ryo's face went carefully blank.

"They want him for a reason; they view him as an _asset_. He's already out for your blood and that just _happens_ to coincide with their little world view of _let's all hate humans_."

"I won't let Black Growlmon do anything bad to Jenrya," Gargomon loomed dangerously over Ryo. "Or anyone else."

Ryo gazed up at Gargomon, unfazed.

"Which is why I think we should find out _where_ they're taking him. And _why_. It's one thing for him to just be flipping out and deciding he likes stalking us of his own free whim, but…you saw Vajramon," Ryo gestured. "He used to be on their Council – he's serving their ends here and that means he'll probably recruit Black Growlmon somehow for their cause. Before it was just bad for us personally that Black Growlmon was stalking Jenrya. But if he ends up in their hands for good, it's bad for us _and_ everyone else."

Jenrya hated to agree with Ryo after what he'd done earlier, but it made sense. _But Dad's waiting_, Jenrya thought,_ we've at least got to let him know we're okay_. But what about the trail? Gargomon didn't have half the nose Black Growlmon did, but he'd assured him earlier that he could try to track Kaminmon if he had to – and Vajramon positively _oozed_ power, leaking excess all over the place so that it would be hard to miss, for a Digimon. Even so, they still had a short window of opportunity here.

He wavered for a moment, torn.

A glance at Gargomon decided it for him. The poor Digimon was the very picture of misery, his ears drooping as he shuffled his feet, button nose twitching nervously. Jenrya gave him a comforting pat on the barrel of one of his gun-arms.

"I'll be okay, so don't worry about me," Jenrya smiled at him. "Let's just see where they're taking him. We'll take my family over to Ruki's and come back. We'll rescue Black Growlmon."

Ryo started. "Are you _crazy_?" he hissed. "You spring him and he'll be all over you!"

Jenrya shot him a look. "You said yourself that he'd be an asset to them. Better he be free than let him end up in their hands."

Ryo ran a hand through his hair, frowning and shaking his head.

"Have you even thought this through? For starters, how're you going to carry him? What about his guards? I'm pretty sure they'll have him heavily guarded and even if you _did_ get past them, how would you get him out without getting killed by him? And assuming you managed to get him out with everyone in one piece, what are you going to do with him? Hope that if you sit him down and have a heart-to-heart he'll suddenly do a one-eighty?"

"It's better than him being stuck with the Council," Jenrya said, for the first time feeling utterly _sure_. "You said that you thought his change was because of Takato," he went on, before Ryo could interrupt. "Well, I think that's only part true – something _did_ happen to Takato, but I don't think a Tamer alone can just force his partner to change without there being some kind of agreement from Guilmon."

Ryo was skeptical. "So you're saying you think you can snap him out of it just on a _hunch_?"

"We don't leave our friends behind," said Gargomon. "He was our friend before all this. We can't just give him over to Vajramon."

Jenrya shrugged. They could go without Ryo if he decided he wanted to dig his feet in and not go on what he probably thought was a suicide mission. Seeing Vajramon, a real flesh and blood _Ultimate_, just walk in and take what he wanted made Jenrya feel a sense of resolve that had always wavered before. He had been so concerned with what _he couldn't do_, what _he didn't know_, that he'd lost sight of what was really important, what really mattered: what he _could_ and _must_ do.

After the horrible news about Black Growlmon actually killing innocent people, after the realization sunk in that he really did want to kill them, Jenrya had a feeling that when he snapped out of it, they wouldn't be friends afterward. Friends forgave, but he'd gone too far and forgiveness couldn't be blind. You simply couldn't excuse cold-blooded murder. Those poor people hadn't done anything to him and he'd struck them down – laughing, even, from Tadako's story. He knew that Gargomon felt the same.

But still.

They needed to rescue him, if only to keep him away from Digimon like Vajramon. Whether Takato knew it or not, his partner was an out of control threat, with a growing string of unspeakable crimes behind him. They had to get him back to normal and they couldn't do that with him as Vajramon's prisoner.

Ryo sighed. "It's stupid, it's going to get you killed, and I'm probably going to really, really regret this but…I'm in."

Jenrya nodded. Anger and disappointment at Ryo's actions earlier had to take a backseat to focusing on trying to figure out how to get to Black Growlmon. First thing was finding out where they took him. Then they could decide if they'd try to sneak in or launch a full scale attack. Gargomon held out his arms for the two boys, wincing as they accidentally jostled the wounds from the battle with Kaminmon so they could ride him. The gun-bunny sniffed at the air, and gestured west, toward the stark outline of Tokyo City Hall. Toward Hypnos's headquarters.

"Vajramon's heading there. He's not even trying to mask his trail."

"Smug bastard," Ryo muttered.

Jenrya held on as best he could. Gargomon took off at a good pace, splashing through filmy puddles and keeping his head bent down as rain began to pour from the dismal skies. They would succeed; he had a feeling that despite the odds, they _would_ get Black Growlmon back.

A rescue mission for a _killer_.

Jenrya had no idea how they'd gotten to this point.

**To be continued**  
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Thank you for reading this far. :3 


	27. Side Story Impmon: The False Tamer

**Digital Shuffle**  
by Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Naturally I don't own Digimon  
**Author Notes**: Haven't updated in, uh, forever. Will hopefully try to work on the next chapter but since my chapters are generally 20-30 pages, this could take a while. Anyway, here's a Side Story to cover what Impmon's been up to.

_Italics _for thoughts/emphasis/  
**Archive**: Sure, just ask.

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Side Story: Impmon - The False Tamer  
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Several days before: Outside Tokyo, just beyond the Barrier

Impmon had a lot of time to think things over.

In fact, he was just about tired of thinking and ready to _act_, but he was stuck doing something incredibly stupid. He didn't know why he was currently armed with a stick and using said stick to poke the unresponsive body lying in the grass: it had seemed like a good idea until he was actually _approaching_ the human, who looked a lot bigger up close than he did from afar.

An experimental poke. Impmon jumped back, raising the stick to give the man a good whack if he moved.

Lucky for him, he didn't.

_What's a human doing way out here_? Impmon thought sourly. He had it up to here with humans. They were rude, selfish, annoying, stupid and, to make matters worse, smelly. They just had that human stink to them, every last one of their idiot species. Harassing them was fun, but it got old after awhile, especially since some of them weren't as human as they pretended to be, making things touch-and-go and more dangerous than he liked. The Rookie scowled, remembering the goggle-headed boy who gave him the ultimatum. Had he always been like that? Seemed kind of…well, slimy. Kind of a jerk too.

Then again, all humans were big jerks who thought they were better than Digimon. Impmon poked at the human lying face down on the ground.

"Y'think you're big an' tough, I bet!" Impmon said, jabbing the human in the shoulder with the stick for emphasis, and crouched down next to him. He would've thought the man dead, but it looked like he was breathing. Darn shame, really.

At this point, though, Impmon had to admit he was actually _lonely_ – even a human looked like a good conversation partner after spending who knew how long wandering around in the wilderness, bored out of his mind, and picking leaves out of his fur for days. The discovery of a human just lying there in the brush had given him a start, and he was ashamed to admit he'd jumped back from fear rather than out of any real caution. _Been out here too long_, Impmon scowled, _if he's not dead,_ _I should just put him out of his misery._

He had almost done it too, so it wasn't like he wasn't gutsy enough to go that far.

But for some reason, he didn't do anything but crouch down and poke him with a stick. Again.

"_Hey_!" Impmon shouted, poking harder. "Anyone home in that dumb skull of yers!"

Still no movement.

Impmon threw the stick down, glaring at the human. "Bah, yer not worth my time! See if I care!"

He stormed off into the bushes.

A few hours, as evening started to approach, Impmon stormed right back.

The man was still there. Pushing aside the dry grass, Impmon planted his gloved fists on his hip and glowered at the human, suddenly feeling curious to see the face of this idiot who thought it was fun to sleep outside even with dangerous monsters like _him_ running around. Feeling a lot braver than before, he marched up to the human and, with a lot of grunting and cursing, shoved at a shoulder and began trying to roll him over in the growing gloom. The human was _heavy_, several times larger than himself, and Impmon was sweating up a storm by the time he managed to get him onto his side.

Humans tended to (mostly) look the same to Impmon, but something about this one was strangely familiar. The Rookie rubbed at his chin with one paw, trying to think where he'd seen this one before. This one had a thick head of blond hair and what he realized was an adult face, although he'd be damned if he could figure out the age. He didn't think he'd terrorized this one before, yet the Digimon had a feeling he'd met this one in the past.

It even seemed like he almost knew his name.

Impmon snorted, leaning up against the human's shoulder and poking rudely at his cheek.

"I think I'd remember someone as ugly as ya," he said, sniffing.

The human at that moment decided to suddenly groan. Yelping, Impmon jumped back, stick raised like one of the humans' ridiculous "bat" contraptions, and ready to hit him if he attacked. The blond man made another pained sound, but settled back into unconsciousness, leaving the Rookie feeling pretty stupid. And far too curious for his own good. He'd already wasted an entire day with this human – or thinking about him, if you wanted to be all technical about it – and now he wanted answers like _who, what, where,_ and _you some kinda joker?_ Now that he had a goal, Impmon set to work, collecting some sticks and clearing the brush before lighting what humans insisted was a "campfire."

Now he was no expert on human anatomy or how to care for a human, but they did seem to like warmth, especially at night. The stars were starting to come out by the time Impmon came back with a rusted cup he'd picked up full of water (if the human didn't like dirty water, then that was too bad, 'cause that was what he was getting).

Sitting down across from the human with the fire between them, Impmon settled down to wait.

The moon had ridden high by the time the human (he'd been nicknamed _Yellow_ by now) revived, making that pained sound again. Impmon kept a wary distance:

"Y'gonna sleep there all night too, geez? Might as well get up."

The man moaned, scrunching his eyes shut. Like all humans, this one had very small beady eyes compared to a Digimon, and Impmon couldn't help feeling a bit weirded out looking at them. "W…where am…am I?" Yellow's words was heavily slurred.

Impmon snorted. "Takin' a snooze in some bushes, genius. Y'got some 'splain' to do, so wake up."

Yellow rolled over after a struggle, clutching his head, and tried to get his wits about him, swaying so much Impmon waited for him to topple over. The man managed to right himself in time to open those beady human eyes of his and look right at his "savior" across the fire.

He froze.

The human's face switched in an instant from confusion to pure hate.

"It's _you_!" Yellow snarled, and seemed to forget all about his headache.

He went for something in his jacket before realizing whatever he'd went for, it was gone. Yellow came up empty-handed. A weapon, Impmon guessed, but he had the human covered; a warning fireball flickered above his hand. So he hadn't been imagining things. The human did know who he was, but he didn't. It occurred to Impmon maybe the human knew him from that gap in his memory, the one he hadn't really worried about too much before, and then he had the terrified thought that maybe Yellow was his "Tamer".

Impmon stopped at that 'cause if he went down that road much longer, he'd probably have to kill himself out of principle.

"Now I don't know ya, but I'm guessin' we met before," Impmon said. "I didn't think I'd find spare humans lyin' around outside of Tokyo, so ya better start 'splain' yerself before I get bored."

Yellow glared at him, but grudgingly sat back down, wincing as his headache gave another throb. He was sullenly silent for a bit, glaring daggers at the Rookie, before finally answering.

"I'm Yamaki Mitsuo," the man said. He stared at Impmon, as if waiting for any recognition. "Or does Yamaki _Asamiya_ ring any bells for you, you worthless scum?"

For an unarmed, helpless human, this Yamaki was definitely trying to push Impmon's buttons: considering the fact he didn't have _any_ ground to stand on, and that Impmon could easily fry him where he sat, he was acting pretty gutsy. Impmon wasn't sure if he should be impressed or just annoyed. Either way, he had the weird feeling he _had_ seen him before, and the name seemed _sorta_ familiar, but thinking back on his life, he couldn't recall being personal with this human.

He settled for a shrug.

Yamaki scowled. Speaking to Impmon must be like having teeth pulled or something. "If you're going to kill me, you might as well get it over with. If 'Nagamora' sent you, you can run back and tell that asshole to do his own dirty work for a change."

Impmon'd be lying to say he wasn't sorely tempted. Were all humans this high-strung and angry? He didn't recall the other Digimon's "masters" being like this. Still, Yamaki was only opening up more and more questions, so it wasn't really worth it to off the human just because he annoyed him.

He was about to grill the man when Yamaki exploded.

"You sicken me, you know that?" Yamaki shot to his feet, fighting to maintain his balance and swaying. "You couldn't protect _her_, so you just ran away like a coward? I can't believe this! Of all the Digimon who should've been deleted, and yet _you're_ still here, pretending like it never happened!"

Yamaki's face, while flushed with rage earlier, was now growing quite pale after standing up so quickly.

"Maybe I couldn't save her, but I did the next best thing and hunted down the monster who murdered her!" Yamaki shouted. "What were _you_ doing all this time?! _She wouldn't have died if you didn't come to her_!"

The human looked to have a mind to keep raging, but his body gave out under him: Yamaki's eyes suddenly rolled up and he slumped back down, falling back down to the ground heavily and cradling his head, panting, the blood drained from his face. Impmon simply stared, a bit shocked at the explosion, and wondering what that was all about. Impmon didn't claim to be the most intellectual Digimon to be hatched from a Digi-Egg, but he was pretty sure Yamaki wasn't faking all that hate. And now that he thought about it, didn't that not-Takato Digimon, the one who offered him an ultimatum right before he booked it from Shinjuku, also mention a "past transgression"?

_You came into contact with two humans several years ago._

What if Yamaki was one of these humans?

It would explain the way he was acting now and Impmon's own feeling of _I know this man. _

Impmon hadn't cared about his memory gap before, but now he wanted to at least know some of what happened, even if he didn't remember. But it looked like Yamaki exhausted what strength he had blowing up at him and wouldn't be of any use tonight.

"I ain't got those answers," Impmon said. "But now that ya mention it, I wanna hear all the details."

Yamaki glared across the crackling fire at him, his face still deathly pale, even for a human.

"What makes you think I'll be here in the morning?"

Impmon let the fireball in his hand puff out of existence. " 'Cause I'll be makin' sure ya don't get no funny ideas about runnin'. And I'm not gonna kill ya, so yer not goin' anywhere." The Rookie paused. " 'Sides, yer in no shape t'get very far."

Scowling, Yamaki lay back down but didn't go to sleep immediately. Impmon could feel his eyes on him, watching his every move even as the hours ticked away and the moon passed overhead. Impmon made a lot of enemies in the past, but he hadn't ever run up against anyone – Digimon or human – who looked at him like this before. Now he only had to find out _why_, because this _why_ would explain a lot of things.

Unfortunately, to do that, he had to actually _care_ for this weak, frail human.

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If anything, Yamaki looked to like it even less than Impmon – but, according to the human, he wasn't going to starve himself just to make a point. Yamaki still resisted answering a lot of questions, and what Impmon could get, he had to practically pry out of him. At least he could drink the next time he woke up and, to his credit, the human didn't complain about the water. Obviously he wasn't squeamish about that sorta thing. The next day proved to be just a lot of waiting and wondering how to feed the man without him running off.

It was only when night fell again it finally sunk in for Yamaki that Impmon wasn't faking it, and that he really didn't remember whatever had happened between them.

The hate was still there – it was permanent, apparently – but Yamaki at least wasn't exploding on him again like a bomb waiting to go off. Instead he lay on the ground, propped up by his suit's jacket, and looked simply drained. Exhausted. Impmon could see the faint stress lines (yes, even _humans_ had them) on his face, even though he knew by now Yamaki was still fairly young for his kind.

Yamaki's voice went flat as he related what he knew.

"I didn't even know about real Digimon until the last few days of her life," Yamaki sighed, closing his eyes. His face was still ashen. "Her name was Junko – my niece."

_Junko._

Impmon wanted to say the name was familiar, but it wasn't. The only thing he felt when hearing it was a big hole opening up inside, a feeling of emptiness yawning inside his gut.

Yamaki went on, words as dead as before. "I don't know how you met and I don't care. You were the worst thing to ever happen for her; she wouldn't have been targeted if it wasn't for the fact you two were 'friends'."

Impmon had to butt in. "So waitaminute, yer saying I had a _human Tamer_?"

"Partner, Tamer, whatever they're calling it now," Yamaki said with a tired sneer. "It doesn't matter. I don't know what you did together, how close you were, or why you chose _her_ to be with. All I know is we were attacked by Musyamon and he killed Junko because of you…and then he laughed about it because you know what? He did it to prove a point and that's that humans and Digimon don't belong together."

Yamaki lapsed into a moment of silence, still nursing the terrible headache he'd woke up with, and went silent so long Impmon was convinced he'd said all he wanted to say. When he spoke again, he stared up at the night sky, at the stars winking overhead.

"I remembered. All this time, I've remembered. And you? You not only failed to protect her or give us _any_ warning this was coming, you also avoided having to live with this for so many years," Yamaki said. "The only thing worse than finding out about this is knowing all those years I worked to remove the disease of your kind was a sham."

Impmon didn't know what to say. Yamaki wasn't lying, but it still didn't jar any memories. But just thinking about all these new possibilities opening up was revealing feelings the Rookie wasn't sure he liked. For him of all Digimon to want to be with someone, much less a human…Junko would have had to be special in a way he couldn't even imagine right now. And whatever he remembered – or didn't remember – it wouldn't matter, because her story had an end and suddenly remembering everything about this Junko girl wouldn't fix everything.

Somehow Impmon was starting to feel cheated. He couldn't feel sympathy for Yamaki, much less sadness for Junko – a dead human girl who didn't even exist to him and now never would. But Impmon _could_ feel like he'd missed out on something and it felt a lot more healthy to wallow in that than the carefree attitude he'd been parading about back in Tokyo.

Without saying a word, or even caring that Yamaki could possibly escape, Impmon got up and left.

He needed a walk to clear his head 'cause now he was starting to get an idea of the big picture.

He sure didn't like what he saw.

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By the time Impmon came stomping through the brush again, he was pretty sure that this Junko girl had been targeted by the same Digimon who'd given him that threatening ultimatum of basically join-us-or-die. Try as he might, his memories of her and what happened were a no-go, but that hollow feeling remained, as well as a vague desire to get back somehow.

The problem with wanting to get back was you needed some specific names and faces.

To Impmon's surprise, Yamaki was still right where he'd left him when he came back just as dawn broke. And, furthermore, the human happened to have those very names and faces Impmon needed.

"Why do you care?" was the first thing Yamaki spat out, this time with more of his old fire.

Impmon crossed his arms. "Who said I did?" he shot back testily. "Jus' tell me what y'know and we'll call it quits. Ya hate me and I don't like ya, so we're even."

Yamaki thought about it for a moment.

"If I tell you, what're you going to do with the information?"

"I ain't no fan of humans, but I hate other Digimon telling _me_ what to do even more," Impmon said. "So I'm gonna teach them a lesson."

Yamaki stared. And then, unexpectedly, he smirked. "If you couldn't teach Musyamon, a Champion-level, a lesson, than what hope do you have attacking the big ones? You were pathetic then. You're probably just as pathetic now."

Impmon just barely resisted the urge to torch Yamaki right there. He hadn't ever felt so angry as he was when this human started baiting him on already-sore spots. He took in a deep breath like he'd seen Renamon do when he was pulling her string, and managed to rein it in. Surprisingly, it worked.

"Says you?" Impmon said. "I ain't the one gettin' dumped out in the middle of nowhere like yesterday's trash."

The human's eyes narrowed. "_I _was betrayed. And once I get back, I'll fix the mistake I made.

He struggled to get to his feet as if he intended to go marching back right this very second. Impmon pushed him down, jumping back just barely to miss Yamaki's angry swat.

"Ya ain't goin' nowhere without tellin' me what I wanna know."

Yamaki stared at him. "You better be aiming to delete them entirely. If you fail or don't take it all the way, I'll hunt you down myself."

And the human was dead serious. Impmon might not be as much of an expert on humans as those Digi-Slaves, but he knew enough to know some of their basic emotions. Yamaki wasn't betraying any signs of human nervousness, no avoiding eye-contact, no wide eyes or perspiration. He was sure about this in a way that was actually even a little scary, never mind he was the one lying wounded. There wasn't any ifs or ands with this one. If he said he was going to dedicate everything to hunting him down, then he definitely would. A far cry from those Tamers, but he supposed these were qualities that would get him what he wanted.

It looked like he was gonna be stuck with this human, at least for now.

X XX X X X X X X

Yamaki was up and walking within a few days of "care" under his reluctant babysitter. The human still had a bit of a hard time walking in a straight line but at least he could stand up and _stay_ up. Impmon didn't know what happened to him and he didn't ask the details. Yamaki didn't provide them.

The trek back to Tokyo took some time, especially with an injured human in tow. Humans were so delicate it was downright ridiculous sometimes. Where Impmon would've just hopped his way through some rocks – or, better yet, blown them out of the way – he had to instead wait for Yamaki to find another way around. Or pick his way through them, which was hard enough to watch, because it was like waiting for a Digi-egg to hatch. It was times like that when he wondered how humans could ever put the Digital World at risk…but then he remembered that there were millions of humans in the Real World and it just brought it closer to home that humans still dangerous despite their individual weaknesses.

Impmon still couldn't believe he was even paired up with one, even if it was temporary. He felt positively disgusted with himself.

And no matter how many times he tried to remember anything about Junko, there was nothing at all.

She was just a stranger and he wouldn't have known she existed at all if it wasn't for the death glares he knew Yamaki threw in his direction all the time. For a man who looked like he should be keeling over, Yamaki hadn't made even a peep of complaint. In fact, the only thing important to him seemed to be moving to their destination and glaring daggers at Impmon. He ate what Impmon gave him and didn't ask where it was from; he didn't appear to care, so long as he got back to Tokyo. Nothing seemed to faze him. The human alternated between a weirdly cold mask and hate, depending on whatever he happened to be thinking about.

Whatever it was, he seriously had a one-track mind.

But even he could be distracted. It was when they finally reached the outskirts of Tokyo that Impmon saw the human actually surprised for the first time. Yamaki limped a few feet forward through the shimmering air – a shimmering he couldn't see but Impmon could – and suddenly found himself turned around and back where he started. Trying it again, he found it happening over and over. Impmon snickered at him.

"Still can't walk in a straight line?" he asked and didn't bother to hide the sarcasm.

Yamaki shot him a glare. "It's not me, you idiot."

Impmon shrugged, smirking. "There's no way you're gettin' through that," he said, pointing at the shimmer in the air. "Your pals got it blocked off."

Yamaki tried again. And once more found himself turned around facing the opposite way. Impmon thought he was lucky, all things considered. This barrier wasn't deadly – but he doubted it was because the Digimon in charge really cared for the humans. Something non-lethal was bound to attract less attention than bodies all over the place. Impmon hopped down from his rock and headed off, staying just beyond the shimmering wall, leaving Yamaki to limp after him, his anger and frustration trailing after him like a solid thing. There had to be a way through this, if only for his own sanity. Yamaki was even more of a pessimist than he was, and he really, really didn't even bother trying to cover up his hate for him. Whatever happened to this Junko girl? It was beyond his control and, to be truthful, Impmon couldn't find anything in him to care or even feel sad, assuming she really had been his "Tamer".

If Yamaki was looking for an apology – or any reaction at all – he wasn't gonna get one.

And that just seemed to piss him off even more.

Impmon knew he could easily overpower the human…but he decided to keep his distance all the same.

X X X X X X X

It was about a day into the search around the barrier before Yamaki said something that wasn't insulting…well, wasn't as insulting as it could be.

"Maybe I can't get through," he said. He was back in that cold clinically detached mode of his – Impmon was finding out it was the only way he seemed to deal with things if he got really angry. "But if your _kind_," said with particular venom, "your kind made this, then your kind can probably get through. You have to lead me through the barrier."

Impmon tossed another twig onto the fire. He still didn't trust the human enough not to keep the fire between them. "What makes think that'd work? I jus' wasted the day attackin' it and I got zip and zilch outta it. We don't even know if it's keyed to certain Digimon or what."

He'd thrown everything he could at it. The worst part was that he'd failed not just himself, but also failed and failed hard in front of Yamaki. Not that he even cared what this dumb human thought, but it was still pretty humiliating to fail like that with an audience to watch you crash and burn. What was worse was that the human made it perfectly clear just how little he thought of him, which was fine and all except _Impmon_ was doing all the dirty work here while Yamaki went about being his weakened, injured self. Basically, being human.

_Still wonderin' why I even bothered rescuin' him. Pain in the butt. _

It was one of those things he was sure he'd be asking himself over and over when this was all over.

Yamaki gazed into the fire. "We've got to try."

Impon couldn't argue with that. It wasn't like he had any better ideas.

X X X X X X X

The barrier was huge. There was no way to walk around it without it taking weeks.

Even through the shimmering haze, Impmon could see the damaged city. Rubble was everywhere, poles lying shattered on the streets. Off in the distance, water shot up into the air in a towering fountain jetting up in powerful surges. If they were gonna make it through, they'd have to head back and try to enter closer to a street – if Yamaki was having trouble with normal terrain, he didn't think it'd be a good idea to drag the human through downed power lines and collapsed buildings. They eventually found a side street that looked clear enough. Glancing at the human at his side, Impmon saw the tic of muscle in his jaw, a sure sign he was trying to suppress his rage and keep calm. He wasn't doing as good a job as he thought. Impmon was getting antsy just standing next to the guy.

"I ain't holdin' yer hand," Impmon said suddenly.

Yamaki stared at him with such intensity that Impon felt foolish.

He shrugged and took a step toward the barrier just as Yamaki did. He had a sensation of something cold passing over him in a gust of frost, trying to steal his breath away and nearly succeeding. A hand pushed through, grabbing roughly at paw and jerking him through so hard his arm felt like it'd come off. The next thing Impmon knew, he was lying on Yamaki's legs, wheezing, frost covering his muzzle. Yamaki's face, normally deathly pale, was tinged a slight blue, his hand just as icy cold to the touch as Impmon felt. But even then, the human was still glaring at the Rookie, his mouth a thin line, expression plain as day screaming _get-the-hell-off-me_. Impmon pushed himself away, more to get away than do him any favors. His fangs still chattered.

But they were through.

Impmon didn't know how he was going to take on their enemies. He was only a Rookie.

But the anger, the feeling of having something stolen from him…it gave him a sense of purpose he hadn't had in a long time. Impmon didn't have to like Yamaki. But he _did_ have to use him and he knew Yamaki felt the same way. They needed each other to get what they wanted. With this human's help, as annoying as the thought was, maybe he had a chance of getting some payback.

**To be continued...**

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

I do plan to continue Digital Shuffle. But I need to figure out what I can cut out and stuff (one of the problems of having so many character viewpoints to juggle), and I'm also dealing with having moved to a new city and adjusting.


	28. Knight of Thorns

**Digital Shuffle**  
by Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Naturally I don't own Digimon  
**Author Notes**: AU, divergence from Digimon Tamers. Has links to Adventure, maybe have some links to X-Evolution.

_Italics _for thoughts/emphasis/  
**Archive**: Sure, just ask.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X  
Digital Shuffle  
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

(Knight of Thorns)

Ruki Makino didn't agree with this mission at all.

She hated to say it, but she sided with Alice and Ryo about it. Both of them thought it was a colossal waste of time, though for different reasons, and Ruki found it hard to even talk to Jenrya on the phone when he called to clue her in on his plan. He wouldn't listen to reason at all, convinced rescuing Black Growlmon was _necessary_. From a tactical point of view, Ruki understood treating Black Growlmon as an _asset_ – strange as that felt – and denying the enemy him was important, but what of the risk?

Too much risk. Ryo was right. It was a suicide mission, plain and simple.

Ruki wanted to fight, to do _something_ as much as Jenrya, but she wasn't too keen on throwing herself into a fight only to get needlessly killed. She liked Jenrya, she had to grudgingly admit, but he wasn't focused anymore. Not after Takato went off and vanished. And it didn't help his partner was backing him up one hundred percent either, absolutely convinced Jenrya was right and they had to follow up on Black Growlmon's abduction by this Vajramon character. They didn't seem to care if Ruki or the others backed them up.

Unfortunately, Ruki grumbled, his friends _did_ care and she wasn't about to let him do this alone.

It was when Matsudas were found that everything suddenly changed overnight.

The rain was particularly heavy, the sky weeping sheets of water, faint tendrils of steam rising up from the streets as she stood guard. Her butt was sore from sitting down on the unforgiving concrete of the shelter, but she had a job to do and that was keeping watch while the others slept. It took days for Jenrya's family to make it this far (their car had been crushed in the earthquakes), and tacked onto that was the fact Mr. Lee insisted on visiting the Matsudas and seeing if they were all right. Alice was out doing…well, Ruki didn't know _what_ she was doing, but she wasn't here. She had a habit of vanishing in and out, like a ghost, and only stared and shrugged that it wasn't important when pressured about where she was going. To be honest, it was really starting to get on her nerves.

Ruki rubbed at her arms for warmth, straightening her sweatshirt and drawing the hood up over her head. Her face still felt chilled, but at least that covered her ears. Renamon sat next to her Tamer, her fox's tail flicking idly.

"They might have stopped," Renamon said, peering through the rain. "It would be difficult to travel in this weather."

Ruki hugged her knees, shifting her weight. "Jenrya said they'd come today."

"Jenrya has been known to be wrong."

"If they're not here, then we keep on waiting."

"Have they called in yet?"

"No."

The two boys had been tracking Vajramon for almost a week and counting now, coming back periodically to check up on the others and then disappearing off into the night with only time to eat and catch a few cat naps here and there. Jenrya was too busy to talk to her, and all the details came from Ryo, of all people. Ruki still didn't like him, but she had to admit that he _was_ trustworthy. And reliable. And _there_. Even if he was a jerk most of the time, at least he was a _helpful_ jerk.

Ruki hugged her knees up to her chest.

She jumped as her cell phone suddenly rang. Groping with half frozen fingers, she thumbed for it to receive the incoming call.

"Hello?" she asked, hearing an awful lot of background noise.

" – got them… - on….way."

"Jenrya, you're breaking up –"

Jenrya's voice on the other end was tight. "Matsudas….watch over them and –"

It cut off. Frowning, Ruki glanced at it. Lost signal. She knew they needed to conserve the battery power on these things – no telling how long they'd be out trying to scrap a living out here – but she was sorely tempted to call him back. Renamon didn't need to be told; she slipped out from the shelter and disappeared through the gloom and rain. It was some time before she came back. She wasn't alone. Ruki shot to her feet.

Following behind her was a small band of people, Gargomon bringing up the rear. Despite the plastic tarp they'd tried to use as a shield against the rain, everyone look more or less soaked to the skin and then some. Ruki stepped out in the rain, watching as the group came closer. Jenrya's dad and sister were herding two adults with them, a man and woman who looked more than a little shell-shocked as they kept looking from Renamon to Gargomon and back again. So that was the Matsudas. Judging by their expressions, they were probably still trying to cope with the fact digital monsters really _were_ real and, to top it off, they could _talk_. As for the third adult, a beautiful woman with purple hair…no idea. Jenrya would have to explain what she was doing here next chance he got.

Assuming he could stop thinking about this rescue mission for one second.

"Hey," Ruki said. "I'm Ruki. This's my partner, Renamon."

The man tried to put on a friendly smile, but it was weak at best. "It's…it's nice to meet you."

Renamon wisely didn't step forward, maybe sensing that he was pretty much at his limit for Digimon right now. She instead nodded, watching as Janyuu took Takato's dad by the arm and steered him into the tunnel, talking and trying to distract him from seeing a big, talking bunny and now a fox. The woman from before, the one Ruki didn't recognize, glanced at Mrs. Matsuda and made a small motion with her hand. The other woman hurried to join her husband. The purple-haired woman started to go in after them, but thought of something. Ruki could see she was very beautiful; having had to live with models, she could tell one when she saw one. But this woman definitely didn't carry herself like any model she knew of.

"You must be Ruki Makino," the woman said. She was clearly intelligent, her eyes moving from Ruki to her partner. There was something vaguely disdainful about the way her eyes roved over Renamon. "I'm Reika. Jenrya Lee's told me about you."

Ruki stared back, not breaking eye contact. Reika didn't seem bothered by it, returning her gaze evenly. "You're helping us." It wasn't a question.

Reika smiled, but the smile didn't reveal anything. "Yes. Seems I had no choice, but we'll leave it at that."

She waved and then headed down the tunnel after the Matsudas and Janyuu. Renamon made a hmphing sound.

"Pleasant woman."

"Just think of her as an extra pair of hands," Ruki said with a snort. Renamon smiled one of her private smiles. "Doesn't matter if she likes Digimon or not, so long as she makes herself useful. Show her around, get her settled?"

Renamon nodded and then vanished in the next blink of an eye, leaving Ruki to make a beeline toward Jenrya. The other Tamer looked dead tired, the red light of the tunnels making the dark spots under his eyes stand out. He looked up and frowned despite himself, as if expecting her to jump him. He wasn't far off the mark. Ruki blocked his path, her hands on her hips.

"You're not going out again. Not tonight."

Jenrya scowled. "We got the Matsudas here safely. I don't want to risk Vajramon moving his camp."

"You're going to kill yourself before Vajramon gets the chance," Ruki blocked him again. "You're not going tonight."

"Jenrya..." Gargomon trailed off.

The half-Chinese Tamer nodded. "Okay. We'll need a plan of attack if we're going to get the jump on them, right? We'll have to get it all ironed out before then."

It was pretty obvious to Ruki that he wasn't willing to do the simple thing and take a nap. He pushed past her, Gargomon following, leaving her alone with Ryo. Ryo just met her eyes and shook his head. For a second, despite him being little more than a stranger, she felt like she understood where he was coming from sometimes. Dealing with Jenrya when he made up his mind about something for a change could get pretty frustrating.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Ryo wrapped his jacket a little bit more tightly around him, careful to not jostle his healing fingers. Of course he wasn't exactly invited to the whole Tamers battle plan session these days, but he could live with that and with "guard duty", which was basically just standing around outside the "bunker" and making sure it was safe outside. He wasn't so sure he liked this new, improved Jenrya; the Jenrya who trailed after Vajramon with a single-minded focus, who planned to take back Black Growlmon but had no real plans for what to do once they got that bloodthirsty murderer in their midst. Sure, he liked that he was going after a target instead of waffling about Takato nonstop, who'd been missing for awhile now, but the whole I'm-the-leader deal didn't exactly work when your end game ended with a bunch of question marks. But that was what Ryo was for. He might not be friends with the other kid, but he could hold his own, he knew what these Digimon were capable of and how to survive. Sooner or later, Jenrya would have to come around. Face the facts. See that rescuing Black Growlmon didn't mean he'd suddenly turn into a cuddly, goofy little red Rookie again.

It was late evening when someone joined him. Ryo heard footsteps from the tunnel behind him and he turned around. His mouth thinned into a line. Alice. It would have been easy to sneak up on him, moving like a ghost as she usually did, but instead she made enough noise to give him a warning. Ryo wasn't sure if he was relieved or suspicious. He was instantly on his guard though.

"They done?" he asked, turning back to keep watch of the outside, but flicking a sidelong glance to track her. The blond girl sat down daintily next to him on a piece of rubble.

Alice was looking right at him. "Yes. But you're not going with them."

Ryo turned, glaring at her. "Why not?"

"You're coming with me."

"I thought you couldn't stand being around me."

Alice's smile was cool. "This has nothing to do with liking you."

"Why would I go with you?"

Dobermon came padding out of the darkness. His eyes were unreadable, but Ryo noted how his fangs were at just the right height to be level with his head. It wasn't a "why", but more like a "when" – he was going to end up going whether he wanted to or not. Ryo weighed his options, black eyes flicking from Dobermon to his Tamer. Things weren't adding up here. He'd known that from day one. But it was much, much worse now. And why did Alice know about another Ryo, who'd done things that he hadn't? The right thing in his mind was to turn around, tell Alice to shove it (Dobermon too), and go with Jenrya. Why were they even dividing up the group? It was so mind-boggling stupid that even a kid could see through it – okay, so everyone here was a kid, but seriously. They were facing a rogue Champion and an Ultimate. They weren't exactly great odds even with every available Digimon here digivolved. Ryo ran a hand through his hair, frowning. He honestly sized up how fast he could move and knew already that if he tried anything, Dobermon could run him down without even breaking a sweat. He had a feeling Jenrya and Ruki didn't know about this little visit either.

"Okay, I'll go," he said grudgingly. "But only if you tell me why first."

Alice paused, debating if she should give who, in her mind, was possibly a spy or a traitor, any information at all. She seemed to decide on giving him some, her doll's face expressionless. "Because of the others. They're coming."

Ryo had no idea what that meant. Others as in allies or more "friends" as in the current group trying to kill them?

"What about Jenrya and Ruki?"

"They're not planning to attack immediately. But what they do between then and now isn't any of your business." Alice stood and turned to Doberman, lying a hand on the side of his snout and petting it. It was the most affectionate he'd ever seen the girl. "Let's go. Renamon will take over watch."

Ryo shot a look back toward the tunnel, but Dobermon not-so-subtly blocked him with his body, his chest rumbling with what just might be a growl. Alice easily swung onto her partner.

"You can either ride with me or Dobermon picks you up with his fangs."

He couldn't believe he was getting shanghaied out of nowhere. Okay, so he was the only kid here without a Digimon, but that didn't mean he could get dragged around like he didn't know what he was doing. Unlike Alice, he'd actually been to the Digital World, he'd seen how brutal it was up close. He knew how far they'd have to go, how they'd have to fight these battles from now on: you didn't just fight for fun, for power. You fought to kill. You fought to win. But – and he hated to have to admit this – you couldn't fight to win if you didn't know all the facts. He needed to know who these others were. And why Alice knew about them and no one else seemed to. He ignored the hand Alice held out to help him up Dobermon, clambering up the Digimon easily despite his messed up hand. Ryo settled in for the ride, holding on tight as the Champion took off like a shot. Ryo found himself automatically adjusting for the way Dobermon moved, shifting his weight without even thinking about it, keeping an eye for any landmarks as they drew further and further away from the Tamer's tunnel/bunker. Buildings, some intact, some ruined, others just nothing more than rubble, flashed by. It was after an hour that Ryo raised his voice, shouting over the wind.

"So how do you know about these others? What's the big secret? If you've got important information, you need to share it with Jenrya and Ruki!"

Alice didn't turn around. He almost thought she wasn't going to answer. "We weren't sure they would make it. One successfully biomerged beyond Tokyo and made it through the barrier. The other is on her way."

"You sound sure now."

"Ruki and Jenrya will know soon enough. But they're not our concern right now. You are."

Ryo was getting tired of being treated like he was less than human. Sure, he wasn't exactly the nicest of guys to people. Okay, whatever. Could deal with people thinking he was a jerk. But if there was anything he wasn't, it was a traitor. He sure as hell wasn't some spy for the Council, like Alice seemed to think he was. But the way that Alice spoke, it sounded somehow _final_. There was the possibility she was going to off him, but this seemed to be taking him pretty far just to do that. Ryo chewed on this, shifting his weight to the side as Dobermon made a skidding turn around a corner, claws scrabbling at the broken pavement, the scenery still little more than a big blur, the wind rushing in his face.

"So what happens?"

Alice did look around now, blue eyes fixed on his. "She will judge you."

Yeah, that sounded pretty final to him. Obviously whatever this judgment was, Alice didn't think he was going to pass it. It explained why she was turning almost chatty, for her. Ryo didn't know if he was going to be alive at the end of the night, but the least he could do was pry some answers out of her while she was in a talkative mood.

"How did you know about these Digimon?"

"My grandfather was an ally. Not all Digimon have sided with the Council. Resistance is usually quickly crushed, so if they can offer us help, it's only very little – they have their own problems in the Digital World to deal with. Back when Ryo," it was obvious she didn't mean him now, "was still alive, one of the few safe havens was the Northern Archives. They still are our allies."

Ryo snorted. "You mean they sent a _librarian_?"

"As well as the leader of the Archives."

"Great. _Two_ librarians."

Dobermon finally spoke up, his voice rumbling; Ryo could feel it through all the muscle and fur, like a car motor. "Be glad we have any help at all. At least they can fight."

That shut Ryo up. It was actually one of the sore spots for him, something he hated to admit to himself and he certainly wasn't going to go broadcasting that to all the others. For being a Digimon of few words, Dobermon knew exactly where to start sticking in the knife and twisting. Ryo was quiet for a few more minutes. He used to tell himself he didn't care what these Tamers did, that everyone was screwed. But somehow he'd been pulled in, somehow he'd started wanting to live to see this through, and now he was going to get judged, out of nowhere. He'd always known he was going to die and that it'd probably be bloody, but like this? Was a new one. Couldn't say he saw this one coming. Ryo suddenly thought of something. Tamayo. In the chaos from the earthquakes, he hadn't been able to get to her. She might just be his legal guardian, but she didn't deserve to get stuck in a hospital that might be rubble or might be overrun with survivors trying to find food or shelter.

"Okay, so I'm going to be judged. Fine. But whatever happens, could you two do something for me? I swear it's not a trick."

Alice and Dobermon didn't say anything at first, although he could swear somehow they were communicating. There weren't that many telepathic Digimon – he knew for sure Dobermon's kind wasn't one of them - but it wasn't unheard of for a close human/Digimon pairing to be able to just think so closely that they didn't need words to get to the same conclusion.

Alice's blond pigtails whipped in the wind as the ruined streets passed under them. Finally she spoke up. "Within limits."

"There's this woman. Her name's Tamayo, she's got green hair and a broken leg. Last I saw her, she was in this hospital," Ryo said. He rattled off the address. "That was before the barrier. Could you check up on her? If…" he trailed off. He didn't know why he was even dancing around this, it wasn't like him, "if she's not dead, try to get her out of Tokyo and somewhere safe."

"…Fine. We'll see to it."

Ryo didn't relax, but he felt a little better. He told himself Tamayo wasn't any more special than the strangers he used to pass on the street, but it _was_ his fault she'd been hurt like that. Ryo fell silent, just settling on moving with the flow of Dobermon's body and watching her Tamer up front. Whatever was going to happen to him today, he knew in the back of his mind that there wouldn't be any turning back.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

You could barely see the barrier, even up close. The air where it was seemed to shimmer, a ripple of blue light sometimes flowing from the sky, but other than that, if you didn't know where to look, it was pretty hard to see it at a quick glance. Ryo could definitely feel it though; it actually felt like a digital field. Sort've. All he knew was he kept wanting to instinctively lean away, the hair on the back of his neck and his arms rising as if the air was filled with static. Dobermon veered course, taking a series of side alleys until they suddenly burst out into a parking lot of a supermarket. There were a few cars still there, a pickup on its side, the glass of its windshield shattered. The supermarket's windows were broken as well, the insides dark and silent; it'd been looted, apparently, judging from some of the cans and packages of spoiled meat he could see littering the asphalt. Dobermon slowed to a halt, his black nose sniffing the air and testing it before padding forward. As they approached, a large shadow stepped from inside the supermarket, ducking his head and squeezing his large frame through the front entrance with some difficulty. The Leomon looked big, compared to a human, but Ryo knew it was a small one of its kind. Small or not, there was no kidding the way he laid his clawed hand on the hilt of his sword, almost casually. This librarian knew how to use it.

"Just in time," Leomon said. He bowed deeply, and then held out his claw to the side. "There were some…changes, when I biomerged."

It was then that Ryo saw a human girl step out from behind Leomon. He started a little when he realized _he knew her_. Juri Katou. The girl in Jenrya's class.

The one who was supposed to be nice and far from Tokyo.

Obviously things hadn't gone as planned.

Juri waved shyly at him as she came to stand next to Leomon. Alice slid down from her perch on Dobermon, not even turning to check if Ryo did the same. She strode forward, dwarfed by Leomon.

"You have a Tamer," she said and she almost sounded surprised.

Leomon's smile revealed his fangs. "In a manner of speaking. I encountered her outside of this human city, being hunted by Golems."

Golems. Ryo pursed his lips as he got off of Dobermon, the shock of hitting the pavement traveling up his feet. Last he remembered, she was supposed to be out camping with her family. What was Juri doing here? Had her family been attacked by Golems, and not been so lucky to run into a friendly Digimon?

"What about her family?" he asked.

Alice shot him a look but Leomon looked…amused? He put a gentle hand around his Tamer's shoulder, his huge claws almost enveloping her. Juri beamed up at him, her face lighting up in a way that made Ryo feel that old ache settle in his stomach and chest, almost like he was getting sick. He didn't look away, determined to face this and just accept that whatever they and the rest of the Tamers had between them? It was over for him. Leomon cleared his throat, a deep purr in his chest that bordered on a growl.

"I still had my mission here. Juri wanted to come with. So I had to reveal myself to the family."

Oh jeez. Ryo couldn't imagine how that went; he'd been there in person to see just how well it went with the Matsudas. They'd been torn up over Takato's disappearance, but that didn't stop them from panicking when they suddenly saw Gargomon pop up – then again, the fact he had two guns for arms wasn't exactly welcoming either – and they'd had to bust their way through a pretty pathetic, makeshift barricade in the Matsuda's bakery just to talk to them face to face and assure them that no, Gargomon wasn't going to kill them and was, in fact, a good guy. Juri took over for her partner, her hand unconsciously reaching up to touch Leomon's. Just watching them, Ryo could tell Juri had changed; she seemed to be more mature, more aware of what was really out there. Something happened out there when she met Leomon. In the very brief time he'd known the girl, Ryo had gotten the impression she was in her own little world. Nice, he guessed, but a little ditzy. There was no sign of that puppet of hers.

"They got kinda scared. I guess they weren't ready for a big walking, talking lion," Juri laughed a little. "Don't think I was either, but it's not like we had a choice. I wasn't going to let Leomon go on alone. He told my parents they couldn't get back to Tokyo and that the safest thing to do was take Calumon and head farther away."

Ryo was incredulous. "They didn't stop you?"

Juri's laugh was on the nervous side this time. "They wanted to. But I want to do my part in protecting them, even if it means being away for them. I want to fight with you guys," she added, stronger now. "I _know_ I can help out."

Alice, standing there listening to the conversation had reacted to this with her typical reaction to just about everything else: a face as expressionless as a doll.

"I'm sure Jenrya and Ruki will appreciate you coming back, Juri. Leomon?"

Leomon motioned for them to join him, heading back to the dark confines of the supermarket. Obviously whatever he was going to tell them, he didn't want to tell them standing out in the open. Once the group was inside, stepping over the remains of the looting, Leomon turned to face Alice. In the dim light from outside, Ryo could see his expression was grave.

"It's not good. They've been amassing forces before I left. There was also talk at the Archives that some of the Devas were on the move, heading south. There was also a solid sighting of a Sovereign One, also heading south."

Juri looked like she was a bit lost following all this. "Sovereign One?"

"They're essentially the gods of the Digital World," Leomon said patiently. "In the past, they shaped the world but they withdrew years ago into seclusion. I believed the five Holy Beasts were biding their time, waiting to see how all of this would turn out. At least, until before I left. Alice, that's why _she_ is coming now. We identified the Sovereign: Zhuqiaomon."

Ryo grit his teeth. It sounded a lot like one of the Sovereign Ones had begun picking sides, just like Vajramon said when he took Black Growlmon. Who knew where the other Sovereigns stood on this? They were the most powerful of all the Digimon; if they thought fighting an Ultimate was going to be hard, trying to face one of the gods was going to be pretty much impossible, unless all the Digimon here somehow digivolved to Mega overnight. Then they might just have a tiny chance. Nevermind the Devas – each Sovereign had their own select group of warriors (not that they even needed it, talk about overkill), but a Sovereign accompanied by his own personal guard? It spelled bad news and that was putting it lightly. It sounded like they meant to end this and not fool around or leave any room for error. The Council was bad enough, but that was before, when the Holy Beasts had been happy to just sit around doing whatever it was gods did in their free time and left everyone else to their own devices.

"We haven't seen the others," Leomon went on. "The Royal Knights sent out dispatches to the remaining four, but they don't expect to make successful contact."

Alice was unfazed. "We don't have much time.'

"No."

"There's also another matter…" Dobermon changed the subject, turning his eyes on Ryo. Ryo didn't look away. He knew what this was about, although Juri was still looking at everyone as if waiting for the real explanation to come any time soon. Leomon also gazed at him, his eyes gleaming despite the poor lightning; Leomon didn't look at him like Alice and Dobermon did. He just gazed at him quietly, without passing judgment, just taking him in.

"Yes," he said finally. "I was told a little about you. Quite an interesting problem we have with you."

Juri frowned. "What problem? What's going on?"

"It's personal," Ryo said automatically.

Leomon gave him that, dipping his snout solemnly. "_She_ will be biomerging soon. She'll see to you."

Ryo still didn't know who this was. Traveling in the Digital World, he hadn't exactly been able to go sightseeing; he'd spent a lot of it trying to pass himself off as anything but human, especially when humans were still hunted years after the Purge. Alice said the Archives were safe, even for humans, but it wasn't something he'd experienced personally. He hadn't ever been there. He had no idea who was the head of the Archives. Seeing his look and realizing he didn't know who this "she" was, Leomon actually smiled; it somehow looked noble, despite being filled with fangs the length of his fingers.

"Don't be afraid, young one. The Knight of Thorns will see the truth, as she always does."

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Jenrya kept going over the battle plan, but he'd gone over it at least ten times by now.

He knew it by heart. He wanted to be out there now, getting Black Growlmon back. But they had to wait and so he waited, pacing his little patch of the tunnel, Terriermon watching him from the floor.

"Nervous?" the Rookie asked.

Jenrya thought about it. There was a part of him that was scared to death, remembered what it'd felt like just being near Vajramon. "I'd say no, but you know I'd be lying."

"Me too. But I think we can do this, if we give it all we got."

Ruki's voice was dry from behind them. "I don't think just trying really hard and giving it our best is going make us win."

Jenrya sighed. He knew Ruki hadn't exactly been behind this; she'd made it pretty clear what she thought, actually, when they got back with the Matsudas in tow and she pulled him aside. She hadn't yelled at him. In fact, she hadn't even got sarcastic at him, like he would've expected. Instead, she'd been calm, trying to tell him he should focus on getting the Matsudas to safety, waiting until they could track Black Growlmon and get to him when Vajramon wasn't around – they'd have a better chance of taking him if there wasn't an Ultimate in the mix. But she was in this still, which was what mattered to Jenrya. He didn't like people coming to him, expecting answers, acting like he was the final say in this, especially people like Ruki. But they had to get organized, right? Ryo had been pretty insistent about that. Where was he, anyway?

"I brought you this," said Ruki. She held out a bottle of water, as well as a small cup so Terriermon could have some too. "I think we're going to need a supply run or something, since we don't know how long we'll be here."

Jenrya poured some water for his partner before taking a sip from the bottle himself. "I know."

"What about the Matsudas?"

"I don't know yet. This was the safest place I could think of."

Ruki frowned, but instead of getting on his case, she switched tactics. "Do you know where Alice took off to? She's been constantly running off with her partner and disappearing on us."

"You're the one who spends the most time with her."

"I'm not her Mom," Ruki said waspishly. "But she's been going somewhere. She didn't tell us everything. And I could've sworn I've heard her talking with someone when everyone was asleep."

"Dobermon?"

Ruki shook her head. "No, he was asleep. She was talking into her D-Arc."

Jenrya felt tired. Sometimes he felt like there was this heavy weight on him, pressing down, smothering him. Some days he couldn't keep track of what everyone was doing – it seemed like everyone had their own agenda. Ryo, sure, that was a given. Ryo wanted to take this all the way to the death before they all got killed. He was dead set on deleting Black Growlmon. And Alice? He had no idea what she was up to.

"I don't know where she went," Terriermon said, "but I think Ryo went with her. Last I checked, Renamon was pulling guard duty for him. Real reliable guy."

Jenrya took another swig of water, resisting the urge to close his eyes. He couldn't keep dwelling on stuff he couldn't have any effect on, like finding out where these people were disappearing to. He could deal with Ryo, argue with him or whatever, when they got back. He looked up and caught Ruki watching him. She thought he couldn't deal with this; maybe he couldn't, but he was going to try until someone better stepped up. "Okay. We can't do anything without everyone here," they needed Alice and Dobermon to fight, and while he wasn't too happy to admit this, he did need Ryo. The other boy knew way more about card slashing than he ever would. They would have to play to win, like Ryo kept saying, and whatever Digimon was guarding Black Growlmon? It wouldn't just be a slap on the wrist – they were aiming for full deletion this time. "Let's just rest, make sure everyone's holding up."

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Being in the middle of a digital field as a Digimon biomerged was never fun.

The pressure increased in his head, throbbing like a pulse, like a heartbeat thundering in his skull and his bones. Ryo stood his ground, sandwiched between Leomon and Dobermon: Leomon didn't seem to have any problems with him, but Ryo knew when he was being boxed in and herded, no matter how nice one of his guards might be about it.

The digital field expanded, white fog suddenly exploding outward from the parking lot, thick mist spraying out in a mushroom cloud and covering the cars, the cracked asphalt. His eyes were tearing up now thanks to the field, but he saw he wasn't the only one – on the other side of Leomon, he could see Juri reaching up, wincing, and rubbing at her eyes. He also saw Leomon turn to her, say something with a smile, and the girl lowered her hands, blinking away the tears starting to stream down her cheeks. Ryo faced forward just as the sheer _presence_ of the Knight of Thorns hit him like a solid, physical push. It was almost like being back near Vajramon: his feet felt rooted to the spot, just like last time, but this was different, too, because he could somehow feel her as she walked toward them through the dense fog, an impossibly heavy invisible weight pushing aside the very air to come toward them. When she finally materialized, Ryo couldn't look away.

The Knight of Thorns was a Rosemon, standing almost as tall as Leomon, but deceptively slight compared to him. Her armor was light and made for easy traveling, the platinum breastplate, shoulder plates, and greaves lined with a delicate shade of red interwoven with green. Her cloak was flung regally over one shoulder as she strode toward them purposefully, one hand on her hip, casually waving away the digital field – the fog fled before her until the parking lot was clear again. The Knight's only visible weapon, a vine whip lined with deadly thorns, remained where it was, curled neatly into a loop and hanging from a strap off her studded belt. Ryo froze and not just because he was in the presence of someone who embodied power. There were very few Rosemon in the Digital World, only one who was a Royal Knight.

A survivor of the Purge.

Was this a trap?

Didn't Alice know who Rosemon really was?

Rosemon turned her face toward him then; the Mega's eyes weren't visible, covered by a crown of petals but he knew that didn't mean anything. She could see him alright. Her ruby-red lips curved up into a smile but she said nothing. Ryo was distantly aware of Leomon kneeling before the Knight, Alice and Dobermon doing the same. He and Juri were the only ones standing and even that didn't last long: Juri sank down into an awkward kneel herself, deciding it was best to copy her partner even if she didn't understand just how important Rosemon really was. Ryo remained standing. He wouldn't ever willingly kneel before a Digimon, not even a Royal Knight herself, much less one who played hand-dog to the Council. What was bugging him was why wasn't she going off the walls to attack them? They were even lined up, making them easier to kill. As if sensing his thoughts, Rosemon's smile widened, but the next moment she turned away from him, holding out a hand that was as perfect and flawless as her armor.

"You may rise."

Everyone got to their feet. Leomon stepped forward, bowing even more deeply than he had to Alice and Dobermon, clapping a fist to his chest.

"My lord."

Rosemon dipped her head in acknowledgment, tapping her armored fist to her breastplate like her servant. "I would that our meeting would be with good news, but it isn't to be."

"I do have some good news," Leomon said, glancing down at Juri. He didn't say anything, but Ryo got the impression this was a test. Was she going to judge her like he was supposed to be judged?

The Royal Knight peered down at Juri for only a few seconds. "Juri Katou has a lion's heart and courage, though she might not think it. Also," and Rosemon's smile turned a tiny bit mischievous. "she thinks you're the most handsome creature she's ever met. She's not wrong."

Leomon couldn't blush like a human, but he was doing a good job trying. Rosemon ignored Ryo, facing Alice and Dobermon in turn. Her expression turned grave.

"I'm sorry about the accident with your father," she said. "But even now, he looks out for you. He's not lost."

Then she turned to Ryo. And crooked a finger, beckoning him to her.

"Come. It's time to judge, young one."

Ryo braced himself, shoulders stiff, and then walked after her. Despite being clad in armor that probably weighed as much as he did, she simply seemed to glide along the ruined streets, stepping over the rubble gracefully with her polished boots. Ryo had to take two steps to every one of hers to keep up, but she wasn't moving as fast as he knew one of her kind could. She was actually taking it slow, as if she was being considerate. Ryo didn't know what game she was playing, but he knew her story, like all the others. She'd had a human as a partner once, supposedly a girl. She'd been obviously hunted down and killed in the Purge, her Palmon the lone survivor, rounded up and collected by the Council for "rehabilitation". He was amazed she'd worked her way to being a Knight, though. Maybe she'd worked extra hard to be that kind of material, tried her best to forget her partner, and just soak up the Council's brainwashing. Ryo had no idea how she could judge him or if she was just telepathic, but honestly he didn't care if she was. So what if she was reading his thoughts? He couldn't stop her and if she wanted to wipe him off the map, she didn't even have to lift a finger to kill him. Killing him would be less than easy; he was only human, after all.

They were quite a ways from the others, too far for any of them to hear or see – even those with strong senses. Rosemon stopped then, turning her face toward him. Ryo could feel her looking at him. Not saying anything, just _looking_. But instead of getting to the point, she just tilted her head.

"So. You are the boy Alice McCoy has been warning me about. The boy who isn't." The Royal Knight studied him more, curiously. "I know what you're thinking, but I can't read minds. I only see the truth of things, what someone is concealing, but I'm not omniscient. Young one, you seem to know who I am. Perhaps you're wondering what I'm doing here, why I'm not killing all of you."

Ryo looked up at her. "That's a start."

It was hard to read Rosemon's face when the top half was concealed, but he got an impression of a deep, still fresh sadness. "My partner's name was Mimi. Mimi Tachikawa. She was about your age when they found us. I saw her die and then they took me, they told me things for many years, they said she was a disease and I was to be purified. It went on forever, the stories, the lies. They didn't even let me keep her crest. But in the dark, listening to those whispers saying my Mimi was evil, I closed myself. It was there I taught myself to see without using my eyes – I wanted to remember Mimi for who she really was, not who the Council said she was. I did what the Council wanted, like so many of the others, but I never forgot who Mimi Tachikawa was. Eventually they began to turn some of us loose, those with the most promise for recovery first. I did many things I'm not proud of, I carried out their evil work. But my loyalties never changed."

"So you worked up the ranks to become a Royal Knight."

"Yes. I felt I could get more access to information if I became one, and try to stop the Council's influence from the inside. So no, I don't believe I will be attacking any of you very soon; I see what these new Tamers have and it pleases me to see these partnerships blooming."

Rosemon motioned for him to walk with her. The Royal Knight moved slower than before as if they were just out for an evening stroll, her gauntleted hands clasped crisply behind her back.

"As for you, Ryo Akiyama. I have seen the truth about you. I saw it when I first laid eyes on you, but even then I wasn't sure if I saw correctly. But I'm sure you want to get to the most important part, which is this: you aren't a danger to these Tamers. You will live."

Ryo deflated a little, although he sensed she wasn't done by any means.

"But I also saw truths about you that you might not even know. Or remember," she added, as an afterthought. "You're no danger to these Tamers, I see you want to fight to save this world, though you didn't save others. But you are a traitor. At one point, a choice was laid before you and you took advantage of circumstances. You are someone else. You are both Ryo and not him."

Ryo had no idea what she was talking about. He hadn't betrayed anyone – in fact, he'd been the one who'd been attacked and left for dead, until Tamayo found him that day. But he kept his mouth shut and listened.

The Knight of Thorns stopped walking, turning her face toward him again.

"Sooner or later, he will find you and he will hunt you down. This isn't a Purge but personal. You know this but you haven't told anyone." Rather than waiting for a response, Rosemon kept talking, her voice steady, "This darkness following you, it's like nothing I've ever seen in this world and to be honest, it frightens me. This darkness is even as strong as the Sovereigns, perhaps stronger. He is only a shadow of himself right now, but there is the potential to become what he was before. But this truth about you, I see that right now he doesn't want to conquer this Real World or this Digital One like the others. He only wants what's his," the Knight of Thorns was silent and then said, "I'm sure you noticed there are some different things about you; you survived things you shouldn't have, you heal a little faster than the typical human, you have strange dreams. Within time, you will remember it, despite trying to keep it repressed. Perhaps when he is close, you will know."

Rosemon fell silent. She was thoughtful.

"I can tell you the truth I see, the full truth, if you would like. You may not believe me, but sooner or later, everything will come back because your powers are fading the longer you live in the Real World. It will be harder and harder to maintain this web of yours, even if you don't remember weaving it."

"Powers? Are you saying I'm a Digimon or something?"

"No. If only you were so lucky."

Ryo bit his lip. He still didn't know what she was talking about, but in the back of his mind, there was a voice saying he needed to know, that there were just too many things that didn't make sense. He was tired of running. He was tired of looking over his shoulder, waiting for that certain death. He was tired waiting for a partner who wasn't his anymore.

"Tell me."

The Knight of Thorns knelt down, still taller than him, and bent her beautiful face toward Ryo, reaching up to cup his cheek in one armored hand. Her voice was just a breath, quieter than a whisper, but he heard her clear as a bell.

She told him everything.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Jenrya was taking a nap when the other came back. Or, rather, when Renamon sent up the alarm.

He woke up to a weight suddenly dropping on him out of nowhere, knocking the air out of him as Terriermon did his best to tackle him.

"Jenrya, wake up!"

The Tamer jerked awake and nearly brained himself on a low-hanging pipe. Rubbing at the growing bruise, he shot a look at his partner. "What was that for?"

Terriermon's words came out in a rush, the bunny-Digimon bouncing impatiently.

"There's something coming. Something big! Renamon's at the entrance waiting for us, your dad's moving everyone deeper into the tunnels. Can't you feel it?"

Jenrya paused. Now that he thought about it, he did feel something, like that heavy feeling you got when it was about to rain, as well as a pressure in his head. Bruise forgotten, Jenrya gathered up his D-Arc and cards with his good hand, and bolted down the tunnel after his partner, the red emergency lights lining the ceiling flashing by. His shoes pounded on pavement as he tried to furiously think. Was this an attack? Had Vajramon found them? Was it that unseen enemy from before, that attacked with all those cables? Renamon was waiting for them at the tunnel entrance – or, rather, Kyuubimon was, her hackles raised as Ruki stood by with a full set of cards out and ready. Kyuubimon spoke through bared fangs, gazing intently at the darkness of the night outside. It was raining again, the water coming down in sheets.

"It's a group. But there's someone extremely powerful with them. Ruki, she's as strong as Zudomon. Stronger!"

Oh. Jenrya sucked in a breath. Whatever Digimon was coming, it was a _Mega_.

He already had a card selected, though he knew even as Gargomon, there was no way they could take on a Mega, no matter how well they planned against this new opponent. There was just too big a difference between their power levels. He was about to slash the card when he thought he saw a shape coming at them through the darkness and the rain – it looked vaguely familiar. In fact, it was familiar, he saw, Dobermon and Alice materializing from the rain, the Digimon loping toward them. Ruki stood a little taller, like she was two seconds away from demanding to know where Alice had run off _this_ time. But whatever she was about to say, it died when she saw what was following the two.

They came out of the rain in a group. First Ryo, followed by…Juri? Jenrya stared. What was she doing here? And then he noticed the hulking shadow behind the girl and his jaw dropped. There was another Digimon, a (he had to frantically remember his cards), a Leomon. Was she his Tamer? Since when had this happened? What was she even doing here, she was supposed to be out of Tokyo, wasn't sh –

Jenrya suddenly forgot whatever it was he'd been thinking as he felt the full weight of a Mega Digimon hit him with all its force. The Digimon wasn't huge, like Zudomon was, but she had this _presence_. The rain didn't even touch her, the water rising up in curls of hissing steam off her armor and cloak. The Rosemon came right at them and while he couldn't see her eyes, he still felt like she was looking at each of them in turn, sizing them up, dissecting them somehow. She didn't even have to say anything, the Mega simply stepping forward through plumes of steam: automatically the small group parted to give her space, Ryo looking down as she passed. Rosemon came to a stop before them.

"We have come to help you in your battle," she said. "You won't fight this alone."

He didn't know if it was because of her sheer, almost overwhelming presence, but Jenrya was finding it hard to think. He just stood there, frozen to the spot, feeling like all his nerves had gone cold, and watched as she looked at Kyuubimon and Ruki. And then, to his surprise, Rosemon bowed.

"Ruki Makino and Kyuubimon. I have heard of the strength of your partnership It will be an honor to fight alongside you."

She turned to Jenrya and he got the full force of her attention. He forgot to breathe.

"Jenrya Lee and Terriermon. I know these are hard times and that change is upon us, but stand firm and know that while there are not many, there are still others out there waiting to make their move when the time is right. We will help shoulder the burden."

She bowed. She straightened and while her sense of presence never changed, she did seem to relax slightly. Jenrya breathed again.

"Unfortunately, because I was biomerging, I am short on the immediate details of the last few days, aside from knowing a companion of yours was captured by Vajramon. My research aide," she gestured to Leomon, standing by, "and I would like to do what we can to help you. We will need to be briefed and brought up to speed."

Jenrya remembered suddenly that he had a voice. Thankfully, it didn't crack or squeak, and was surprisingly level and calm. "This way," he said, and led them deeper into the tunnel. It thankfully wasn't a tight squeeze, like he dreaded; Growlmon so long ago had been able to fit and Leomon and Rosemon had no problems entering. The Mega's heels clicked as she walked, her head tilting this way and that as she took in their surroundings, not like she was seeing it for the first time but like she'd come home. Ruki speed-walked to catch up to him, lowering her voice. She sounded awed and uncharacteristically subdued.

"Jenrya, this changes everything."

"I know."

"You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you? You don't sound like you're exactly jumping for joy here."

Jenrya shot her a tired frown. "I'm trying to think ahead. If Rosemon and Leomon want to join the fight, it means we don't just have a slim chance of winning, we have a really good chance of winning if we attack Vajramon's camp. But I don't know yet what we do when we get Black Growlmon. I don't think he'll want to talk."

"No, I'm pretty sure he'll try to kill you."

"That's comforting," Terriermon chimed up for his perch on his Tamer's shoulder.

"I'll ask Rosemon and Leomon what they think we should do. For all we know, they might know something about this," Jenrya said.

Ruki didn't say anything, but she looked almost, but not quite happy at what he said. Jenrya wasn't sure why. The tunnel branched off to a side tunnel; Jenrya steered them toward that, deciding they should wait on the introductions to his family, the Matsudas, the Makinos and Reika later. A few more minutes of walking and then the side tunnel opened up, widening out into a large room that might've been used to store machinery once. Pipes and cables ran along the wall. Jenrya watched as Rosemon stalked ahead, her face turning as if studying something, staring right at the cables.

"You have a spy here."

Jenrya didn't have time to ask what she meant. The Mega moved to the center of the room and suddenly that thorned whip was in her hand, looking less like a decoration and more like a real, deadly weapon. She flicked it almost lazily, crack-crack-crack, too fast to see, and suddenly several of the cables were in pieces on the floor. They actually writhed for a few seconds before coming to a stop. Rosemon looked around again but seemed satisfied, coiling up her weapon and hanging it back on her belt again.

Ruki and Jenrya exchanged questioning looks.

"I see the truth of things being concealed, Tamers. This spy sought to hide it was here, but it didn't hide what it was – I don't know what the truth is if it's not being hidden from me," she said, like they were talking about what nice weather they were having. And then, she sat down on the floor crosslegged and waited.

Jenrya closed his mouth, sitting down hurriedly. The others joined him: Dobermon and Alice sitting off to the side – noticeably far away from Ryo, who'd chosen to sit behind Jenrya's shoulder – Kyuubimon and Ruki to Rosemon's left, Leomon and Juri to the Mega's right. Jenrya went ahead with the briefing, trying to ignore the fact that all eyes were on him, and launched into it, trying to keep it from being too long. Rosemon sat with her back ramrod straight, giving him her full attention which he actually wished she wouldn't do – he kept feeling his human instinct to a Mega being so close was to just freeze his breathing and heartbeat and it was difficult to focus on what he was supposed to be doing. When he was done, Rosemon nodded once to herself.

"Ah."

She fell silent, thinking it over.

"So this companion of yours, Guilmon, was corrupted somehow. And you believe something happened to his Tamer to do this."

"That's the only thing we can think of."

"I will judge him when we bring him in, but I can't guarantee results. If he hides nothing in his heart because there is only room for hate and bloodlust, I can read nothing and then he must tell us himself in his own words, of his own free will. However, this camp you've scouted out, where you last spotted the Founder Vajramon and his cohorts? It's not going to be there tomorrow."

Jenrya _knew_ they should've attacked today! "What do you mean?"

"They would have felt me biomerge. I would only have come to the Real World for one reason; Vajramon isn't stupid, he knows if I'm here, it means I betrayed the Council. They might not know exactly where I am, but they will most likely move Black Growlmon to a safer location as a precaution, closer to stronger Digimon. I may be a Mega, but even I can be overwhelmed given the odds. They will bank on that and pull in whatever Champions and Ultimates they have stationed in Tokyo to try to keep me out."

"Odaiba," Ruki said. Everyone looked at her. "There's an Ultimate there. Zudomon."

Rosemon's tone was regretful: it seemed almost as if she spoke from personal experience. "It will be a difficult fight then. Zudomon isn't easily swayed, and with Vajramon there, he will lean toward that loyalty and not to me. Can any of you digivolve yet to Ultimate?"

Kyuubimon and Terriermon shook their heads.

"Despite having all the knowledge of the Archives, I can't teach you how to digivolve to Ultimate in the Real World. It's something that must be learned, when the bond of Tamer and human becomes even stronger," Rosemon said. She rested her armored hands on her knees, "But our time is limited. What do you think we should do?" she looked toward Jenrya.

Jenrya had no idea why she was looking at him. She was a Mega, she seemed to know more about what was going on here than he did. But – and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or horrified – she saw him as the leader and she wanted to know what he planned to do now, since things would have changed. Their last scouting mission meant almost nothing if Black Growlmon was being moved overnight. But the words just came to him, almost like someone else was saying them.

"Alice, Dobermon? We'll need to know what they're doing in Odaiba now."

Alice nodded, got up, and left with her partner. Jenrya thought hard about what they should do.

"Leomon? You're a research aide, right? Is there anything you can tell us about the Council or the Digital World that can help us?"

Leomon sat close to Juri, so close their knees were touching. The girl was dwarfed completely by him but looked like she wanted to be nowhere else but here.

"The information I have may not help, except to widen your perspective on the situation back home and help you understand just how serious this Council is," Leomon rumbled. "The Council is growing increasingly restless. The pressure to initiate the takeover and invasion of the Real World increases each day; there's unrest and panic from the rest of the Digimon because a virus we've never seen before has emerged a few months ago. It's been dubbed the 'X' virus, running rampant like one of your human plagues. As I have told Ryo Akiyama and Alice McCoy, one of the Sovereign Ones and his personal Devas are on the move. It's possible they will attempt to biomerge."

Jenrya had no idea what a Sovereign was, but it sounded powerful. Judging from the look on Juri and Ruki's faces, they weren't much better off. This was a lot to take in for all of them.

Leomon continued, "There's also a suspicion that the 'X' virus was introduced by humans. But right now we have no way to trace it, although the Archives are looking into it. _Were_ looking into it," he corrected himself. "Those at the Archives have remained loyal to humans, but they won't be able to help you. My lord," he motioned with a deferential claw to Rosemon, "has ordered them to evacuate. She believes that come tomorrow, when we battle in Odaiba, that the Archives will be raided by the Council because news of her betrayal will reach the Digital World by tomorrow night, at the latest. The rest of us will be forced into hiding and will be spread out. This will, however, distract some of the Council forces. It's possible some of the other loyal Digimon out there might choose to biomerge and help the cause of the Tamers if they feel the Council has its attention elsewhere."

"As you know, biomerging is dangerous. Very risky," said Rosemon. "It's also possible that some of those seeking to come through won't make it or will be deleted in the attempt. My advice is to assume for now that we are on our own against the Council here in Tokyo. If we have reinforcements, then so much the better, but it wouldn't be wise to bank on it."

"We'll just have to focus on Odaiba and Black Growlmon," Jenrya said, frowning. "For now, at least."

Rosemon had one more thing to say, though it felt like the briefing was wrapping up. "It's been awhile since I've been in the Real World, but I remember where Odaiba is. Where is Zudomon located?"

Ruki pursed her lips. "The harbor. At least, last time I was there, so was he."

"Then he'll probably still be there – he prefers bodies of water or ice," Rosemon said. "Jenrya Lee, I would like to make a request of you. Come tomorrow, I would like to take point. Their attack must be centered on me if you are to get past their defenses and find your prisoner."

Everyone looked at him. Jenrya swallowed, finding it somehow wrong he was ordering around a Mega. "Okay."

"Thank you."

The others began getting to their feet, breaking off into groups. Rosemon was one of the last to leave, but Jenrya ran to catch up to her, hoping to speak to her alone. She towered above him, that pressure in the air from being near her almost stifling to him. Jenrya was all too aware of being "just" a human.

"Rosemon?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I didn't want to bring this up in front of the others, but...well, I've been seeing a pattern. First Greymon, then Zudomon and now Garurumon...?"

Rosemon's shoulders braced. "I was one of them. I still am. I long for the day when they will see the error of their ways, but I will fight them even so." She turned then to him. "Jenrya Lee, we Digimon aren't all powerful, contrary to belief. We may be able to do things humans can't, but we are weak in other ways. We fall. Sometimes we can't get up. Sometimes we can, but only with the help of a human. The Council teach that this is the fault of all humans, that because of their blight on the Digital World that we are only shadows of ourselves, that it's a dangerous co-dependency we have to break out of. But I will always value the partnership between a human and a Digimon: together, you will be strong, far stronger than you are apart. Trust Terriermon. And remember what you would do for each other."

She spoke softly now, remembering another time.

"Tomorrow, if we succeed and Black Growlmon is back among us, remember he, too, is a Tamer's partner. For him to be corrupted, there isn't just hate. There is the same level of commitment and love for his Tamer that is still there. I'm not saying at all it will be by any means easy...but there might be a way to appeal to whatever love is there, beneath the rage. He may be fighting against you, he may lash out, but he is not the true enemy here. If you want to fight these battles, don't forget that. Don't let the others forget it."

Rosemon offered a small smile to encourage him and then left, the clicks of her heels eventually fading at the same time as the pressure in the air cleared. Jenrya was left alone in the room, wondering how tomorrow would turn out. This morning, he'd been pretty sure they were going into a death trap. Now it looked like they might have a chance, even if it'd gotten more complicated.

Either way, it was coming. And he couldn't do anything but face it and do his best.

**To be continued...**

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X


	29. Assault on Odaiba

**Digital Shuffle**  
By Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon Tamers  
**Author's Note**: It's been forever since I've updated. Been gobbled up by work and other things. I apologize for how long it's taken me.

Reviews are verymuch appreciated, but they don't determine how long I take on chapters.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead – but ask me first.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut  
"_Dialogue_" is similar to telepathy

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Assault on Odaiba)

Ryo didn't sleep.

Instead he wandered the length of the tunnels, aimless at first but finding himself checking up on the others. The Lees huddled together, blankets bunched over them, Terriermon fast asleep on his partner's stomach. The Matsudas were not far away with Reika. The Makinos had their own little area, Renamon standing by - but he could see her starting to nod off as he walked by, tired. Her watch wasn't necessary: Rosemon kept guard, and for tonight, at least, Ryo knew there was no safer place in the world for these Tamers. It wasn't every day a Mega magically appeared and offered her services, free of charge.

It also wasn't every day the same Mega turned to you and stomped all over everything that mattered to you.

He didn't know what to believe.

Ryo found himself in the room where they had the briefing a few hours ago. Silently he held up his broken hand, willing himself not to wince as he tried to flex bandaged fingers that should've been shattered, wishing they wouldn't move. He willed them not to. It didn't matter. He watched with a sick feeling in his stomach as they actually started to curl, fresh pain shooting up his hand. He was definitely healing faster than he should - with all the trauma he'd been putting it through since he'd punched out that window, it shouldn't be this far along and yet there it was, staring him in the face like a messed up joke. His other hand reached up and began to unwind the bandages around his forehead, where something, either glass or just general shrapnel, had been embedded.

The bloodied gauze fell to the floor.

Ryo hesitated, but he was already angry at himself for suddenly being this afraid, and he reached up, clapping a hand to the spot where the injury was. There was only a bump of knitting skin, not the gaping hole that should've been there. It was proof, at least, that the Knight of Thorns was right. There was something _wrong_ with him. It wasn't as simple as it'd been a day before, when his biggest worry was getting Black Growlmon back and hoping he'd live long enough to see this mess through. So what if he was a fast healer? Ryo stared down at the bandages he didn't even need anymore. That didn't mean everything else the Royal Knight said was right too, was it?

But why would she lie?

If anything, she'd given him warning what to expect. Kinda.

Ryo had always prided himself on not being dragged down by family, by friends. He did things his way, got them done and that was that. He lasted longer in the Digital World than any of those nine original humans had, without their backup, without being watched by those in the Real World. All by himself. But sitting here, with Rosemon's words echoing in his head, Ryo finally knew what it really felt like to be alone.

It wasn't fun.

He reached up to touch the scar on his cheek. Why hadn't that healed all the way? If he was supposed to be some kind of not-human, not-Digimon freak, than was the deal with that? Why wasn't this even consistent? Was he defective? Lifting up his black shirt, he looked down at the ugly scar covering his chest and his side. He'd thought the attack was unprovoked, that his partner had suddenly turned wild and attacked him out of feral rage. Now he wasn't too sure. Ryo wished he'd waited on asking for the whole truth until _after_ Odaiba.

After awhile, Ryo got to his feet and quietly headed back to the Lees. He wasn't on the best terms with Jenrya after the last fight with Black Growlmon, but he didn't really feel comfortable joining the other families either. He gazed down at the sleeping boy's face, mouth set in a line. It seemed like a long time ago that Jenrya had come up to him, all naively earnest, and said he'd be there if Ryo ever wanted to unload. If what Rosemon said was true about him, then...

He didn't know what he wanted to do. Even if he unloaded on Jenrya, what was he even going to say? He had no idea if what he thought happened was the real version of how things went down, especially when Rosemon said he'd somehow concealed this from everyone and himself. _Especially_ himself. But whatever he'd done, apparently he could expect it to lose whatever power it had since he was in the Real World now. Apparently he had a pretty crappy warranty once he stepped outside the Digital World. Nice.

There was no telling if it'd just be bits and pieces or all at once, if he'd just remember this "truth" himself or if it'd be physical too, if one day he'd look in the mirror and no longer see Ryo Akiyama.

Ryo lay down uneasily. It took a long time to fall asleep.

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Jenrya was awake by the time Alice and Dobermon came back. Despite being out all night, Alice looked exactly the same as she left, every hair in place, no sign of exhaustion in her pretty face. She slid down from Dobermon's back as dawn broke.

"Rosemon's right," she said calmly as she walked next to him in the tunnels. "They've set up base in Odaiba, near the Fuji TV station. Garurumon is guarding Rainbow Bridge with Kaminmon, Zudomon is in the bay patrolling, and I spotted Vajramon near Fuji TV, so it's possible Black Growlmon's being held there. We observed reinforcements arriving." She handed him a paper, sketched out with a precise hand.

Jenrya slowed as he studied it. It was a quick map of Odaiba and the surrounding bay. Five Brimpmon, forty Airdramon and Coredramon covered the skies. As the easiest way into Odaiba, Rainbow Bridge was even more heavily guarded, with Zudomon patrolling, Garurumon and Kaminmon stationed there and Jenrya guessed the other Digimon there probably answered to those two: there were a flock of Darcmon, one Diatrymon, one Reppamon. More Digimon in one place then he'd ever seen before. The list went on with more Champions. Jenrya stopped short when he saw what was on Dai-Roku Daiba, one of the battery islands. Vajramon had a Mega, too. There went their advantage. Chaosdramon was stationed on the battery island, probably to serve as artillery...but uncharacteristically, Alice had written a question mark there. He looked up to see her gazing at him expectantly.

"I think it was a Chaosdramon, but I've never seen one look like that before. He's probably the one with the strongest offensive and defensive abilities, but he has the disadvantage of being landlocked. He can't make it onto Odaiba-main."

Jenrya frowned, not even noticing Leomon passing by. The Champion paused, overhearing their conversation.

"You said it looked different?"

Alice described what Chaosdramon looked like. It was more armored than the typical one, two giant cannons off its back, all angles and metal, more so than the normal kind. Bigger and heavier too. It looked meaner, if that was even possible.

"He might have been infected by the 'X' virus," Leomon said. "Usually Digimon are deleted by the virus, but we've had the rare case where the victim survives and mutates. We call them 'X' Digimon."

"Chaosdramon X?" Jenrya asked. "Can Rosemon handle him?"

Leomon shrugged. "For a while, at least. They're not known to be too stable, however, perhaps from whatever antibody they have trying to fight off the 'X' virus. Don't worry about him," he clapped a hand on Jenrya's shoulder. Jenrya staggered under the weight. "That's their first mistake, deploying that particular Mega - they were so concerned for his defense that while it's difficult to get to him since he's surrounded by the sea, he himself won't be going anywhere. We'll just need to hit Odaiba and then he'll be unable to strike unless he's willing to risk friendly fire."

Jenrya shook his head. It seemed to him like just getting to Odaiba was going to be hard enough, but he knew he had to trust everyone to do their part. Already he could see some of the others heading for the end of the tunnel, coming the opposite way. He felt Rosemon before he saw her, that weird pressure like a wave pushing at him. He paused, keeping his distance. Ryo had been kneeling off to the side, putting some stuff in a backpack and checking the straps as the Mega stopped and knelt down next to him, too far away to hear anything. Ryo replied back, his face blank with that look Jenrya knew was him not telling the whole truth. She said something back...and Ryo was the first to look away, upset.

Jenrya looked down and pretended he was fishing for his cards in his pocket as he passed Rosemon and joined Ryo.

"Ready?" Jenrya asked.

Ryo looked up, black eyes unreadable. "Yeah." He paused, and Jenrya was sure he was going to tell him all over again this was a bad idea. "Sorry I've been a jerk." It came out in a rush, Ryo looking just as surprised as Jenrya. Flustered, Ryo's expression settled back into that neutral one and he made a point of staring Jenrya in the face almost confrontationally, unwilling to be the one to look away first. Without looking away - without even seeming to blink, either - the other boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a few cards, holding them out. "My best cards. I've had them since I was in the Digital World, so don't go dropping them or anything. Don't forget to combo them together."

Jenrya took them hesitantly. His eyes widened as he took a quick glance at them.

These were priceless, the kind you'd find behind collector cases; the set was slightly dog-eared, flecked with little dark-red spots, but these were the sorts of cards you didn't just go giving away whether or not they were in mint condition.

Watching Jenrya, Ryo's mouth opened like maybe he was going to say something but when the Tamer looked up again, he was just shrugging the backpack onto his shoulder and awkwardly waving away Jenrya's equally uncomfortable "thanks".

"Let's get this over with," Ryo mumbled.

Jenrya followed him outside where everyone was almost ready. Ruki rode on Kyuubimon, Alice on Dobermon. Rosemon stood with her arms across over her breastplate, with Leomon and Juri by her side. Gargomon turned as Jenrya joined them and waved. Ruki even had a smile on, which sort've creeped Jenrya out because she only got that way when she was expecting a good fight that was a long way coming. What made it worse was everyone was, again, looking at him like he was some kind of leader. Jenrya swallowed as he headed for Gargomon.

"Good luck," he said. No way was he going to be able to do a speech. "Don't forget, when you see the signal, we either have Black Growlmon or it's time to retreat."

"We'll get him," Rosemon had that same quiet, self-assured air as before. "It's not a question of if."

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This wasn't the job that Diatrymon had signed up for.

Guard duty. Boring and, as she chatted to Reppamon, not exactly full of glory. So much for the promise of purging the humans here and having Glory and Honor (important, that Glory and Honor be in capitals – said so right on the posters they'd put up, the very same ones that convinced Diatrymon to biomerge here). Sometimes she wondered what the Council was really up to. The few humans she _had_ killed hadn't seemed particularly evil to her, just…in the way. Harmless, really. Underfoot. Tended to run screaming at the sight of a few Digimon. Where were the tanks and other killing machines? The armies and viruses and malware and everything the Council said they were here to take out?

Diatrymon shifted her clawed legs. Watched the sun for a bit. Even craned her bird of prey's head, the armor plating gleaming, to preen under a wing. Bored, she preened the other wing just to be thorough.

She looked up just in time to see death bearing down on her. Diatrymon squawked a strangled alarm as Leomon blotted out the sun, his sword arcing. Diatrymon crumpled to the ground in two thumps before exploding into data.

So much for guard duty.

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Ryo held on for dear life as Dobermon ran at full tilt across Rainbow Bridge. If there was a way for Alice to pull away from him, she would've. Instead she tolerated his arms around her waist. Barely.

It suddenly made a lot more sense why she wasn't exactly his biggest fan.

And maybe, just maybe, he thought she was right. If Rosemon was true, he was only a fake, in every sense of the word.

But instead Ryo kept his mouth shut, his knuckles white as he held onto Alice's waist, the two bouncing as Dobermon huffed and growled forward, claws sending pavement chips flying. The battle was already getting underway, fresh columns of smoke drifting up into the sky. As Ryo watched, a massive howling ball of light sailed through the air. It exploded into the harbor's water, the sea itself hissing and boiling as Chaosdramon X aimed a potshot at the party taking out Reppamon and missed. There was a deafening grinding of gears and metal as Chaosdramon X adjusted his position on the battery island, compensating for the targeting error. Ryo could hardly believe how downright _big_ the Digimon was – it was so big it almost looked ridiculous. He couldn't even compute it, his mind kept wanting to blank out at the sheer mass.

"They should be drawing more of the forces away from the bridge," Dobermon yelled. "Hold on!"

Ryo tightened his legs around Doberman as the Digimon loped forward. Another blast of fire went overhead. Even from here he could feel the wave of heat, this solid thing pressing down on them, the air shimmering. Honestly, he was amazed they'd made it this far and that was before Chaosdramon X ground to a halt, his cannons lowering, adjusting, and then the muzzles flashed. There was a moment of silence, a puff of blinding light, and suddenly the air cracked open. A section of Rainbow Bridge vanished behind them. Chunks of pavement tumbled into the water. That was close! Ryo could feel his teeth rattling as they raced forward, risking a glance over his shoulder.

As he watched, a blur of red suddenly rocketed in the air at Chaosdramon X, looking so tiny and frail he expected Rosemon to bounce off.

Instead she hammered into the other Digimon like a bullet. His shoulder plate shattered into car sized chunks as he staggered, fell back, and almost crushed the battery island out from under him. Rosemon was relentless. She didn't wait for him to get to his feet. That whip arced out, looking like a string of silver. One of Chaosdramon X's shoulder cannons sparked and slid off as the Royal Knight pressed the attack. Out came the whip again. One of his shoulders seemed to be hanging off now by a thread of data, the roar turning pained as Roseman danced around the larger Digimon.

Even when a lucky shot caught her point blank, she kept on coming. Rosemon tumbled head over heels, righted herself, and charged through the smoke cloud to meet Chaosdramon X.

Ryo was reminded all over again why he was glad the Knight was on their side.

Glancing over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Alice checking her D-Arc. It displayed a general map of the area, with their little team tracked by glowing dots: Kyuubimon and Ruki were already further up ahead, with Jenrya still lagging with Gargomon because that was so _Jenrya_. Probably double and triple-checking something. Leomon was securing a foothold in one of the office buildings with Juri and if the map was right, it looked like some of Vajramon's forces were starting to pull back in a tight ring around where they assumed Black Growlmon was being kept. Ryo was privately amazed they'd even made it this far. Maybe, just maybe, they'd underestimated the strength of a Royal Knight and they'd actually make it through this. So much for their artillery!

But that was now. Actually getting to Black Growlmon, though…

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Jenrya couldn't believe this was going as well as it was. In fact, he was surprised they made it through the first line of guards. After the luck they'd had so far, he kept waiting for this to fall on its face.

They were bringing up the rear, and had barely crossed Rainbow Bridge before it got taken out. Concrete and suspension cables splashed into the sea. Jenrya couldn't tell if Chaosdramon X was actively aiming or working on a _close_ _enough_ kind of thing. Either way, they had no choice but to go forward and press in. Hopefully with all of them hitting the island at once, they could distract Vajramon long enough to get the job done. That's what Ryo had called it. A "job".

Gargomon deposited him on the floor near a dumpster as they took cover from one of the second-line guards. One Darcmon, trying to keep them pinned down so that whatever was left of that flock of hers could catch up. The digital field's spreading fog made it hard to see more than a few meters out, even with his glasses. Jenrya began flipping through his cards, ducking instinctively as shrapnel bounced off the wall a few meters up. Gargomon popped up, returned fire, and then ducked back down next to his partner. He panted slightly, but even now managed one of those smiles of his, soot covered bunny face and all.

"I think we're doing pretty good! Y'know, considering I thought we were gonna be creamed for sure."

"So we're slightly less creamed?" Jenrya's tone was dry. He huddled up against the wall and held up a card. "Ready?"

Gargomon bared his teeth in a grin. "You bet."

Jenrya slashed the card. "_Digi-Modify! Slot Blast!"_

One of Gargomon's gun-arms glowed, the metal casing expanding with a thrum that Jenrya could feel in his teeth and rotating out into sectioned plates. Gargomon didn't even have to really aim with the upgrade: all he had to do was point and shoot and suddenly they were minus a wall across from them. There wasn't even rubble – it wasn't _there_. The screech of the Darcmon and the clatter of her sword told them that he'd more or less got a direct hit, the sharp scent of ozone wafting as she flopped out leaking data. A large chunk of her wing and side had been vaporized. Sparks of data spiraled off as she spit and snarled curses at them, in no position to fight back.

Gargomon trained his gun on her, Jenrya hesitating. He should do it. Call it. Gargomon would do it if he did. Ryo would probably be pushing him to finish the job and say this was a war, that the Digital World had started it.

"You're a traitor!" Darcmon squawked. Her fingers clawed at the ground, too-green eyes glaring up in pain at them through her helm's slits. "Nothing but a traitor!"

She cut herself off, choking up more data. It drifted up and dissipated. She probably only had minutes. Jenrya suddenly felt sorry for her, even though he knew she'd have no problems trying to wipe them off the map if she could. Despite whatever Ryo might've said, he wondered what made her come here – what she'd risked leaving behind to go on a mission for some Council she'd probably never even met. Just how bad was it there that this was better? And that was before he really looked at her, and realized that it wasn't just rage and pain and that she really _did_ see him as poison.

Darcmon was scared. She knew she was dying. Everyone did. Gargomon deleting her would be overkill.

The terrified look she shot at Gargomon said all it needed to: she didn't want to be deleted and uploaded.

Jenrya suddenly thought she didn't want to be deleted at all. Whatever she'd told herself about being deleted for the cause, now she was having second thoughts.

"You," Darcmon's eyes fixed on Gargomon. "We need – we need more of you to…"

She coughed and writhed.

"Filth, you should be fighting by our side!" Whatever was left of Darcmon's wings gave a weak flutter. "It's their fault the X-"

She couldn't finish what she was saying. Darcmon froze, stiffened, and began to fade away into data, the streams spiraling off. Jenrya glanced over at Gargomon, only to find his partner was looking at him, no longer smiling. Yeah, he understood how he felt. Jenrya looked away at the accusing glare, her words ringing. When he looked back, she was gone.

A small egg sat there.

Jenrya had to brace himself against Gargomon as the ground shook under their feet. The others were still out there fighting and if they wanted to get to Black Growlmon, they'd have to get going before the rest of Darcmon's sisters arrived.

"Let's take her with us," Gargomon said, subdued. "Okay?"

Jenrya was thinking the same thing. If they left the egg here, there was a really big chance something would happen to it with all the fighting out there. "Okay."

Crouching down, he picked up the egg. It was smaller than he would've thought: about the size of a grapefruit, and almost burning to the touch, stripes slashing across its surface. He stuffed the egg in his backpack, swinging it around so he could cradle it in his arms before Gargomon picked him up. Jenrya had no idea what they would do with the egg, when it would hatch - _if_ it would hatch at all.

Just felt like the right thing to do.

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Ryo hoped Jenrya had this under control. Far as he could tell, everyone was still in one piece and they were doing way, way, way better than he expected.

So far.

Ryo hunkered down next to the back door of Fuji TV, Alice next to him, almost close enough to brush shoulders and even now _somehow_ still able to give that impression she was leaning away from having to touch him. Time to pull his weight as the one Tamer without a partner. Ryo figured he'd had all this experience running away and worming into places he didn't belong that this wasn't any different. In fact, he was probably the best qualified here.

It sounded easy on paper. Sneak in on foot and scope out the place himself, make sure Black Growlmon was there and check for any extra guards, any changes in the intel from last night. Anything that they could use. He figured Alice had seen what he had: Garurumon hadn't been near the bridge. Neither had Kaminmon. If that had changed, what else was different?

"If I see anything or I need to get picked up, I'll hit you with this," Ryo patted his D-Arc. He saw Alice's eyes flicker down to it with recognition, her pretty little face darkening. For a moment, she had an ugly look, like she wanted to swat it out of his hands.

Alice's face smoothed over. "You do that. We'll be there."

She didn't say anything like "don't get killed" or "be safe" or even "good luck". She just turned away from him and began consulting her D-Arc, checking on Dobermon's progress and working out her card combos with an efficiency that was both graceful and borderline robotic. Ryo took that as his cue to get going.

It was getting closer to street-fighting at this point, whatever was left of Vajramon's guard digging in and fighting smarter. Ryo darted across the alley, keeping to the shadows and as light on his feet as he could. He pressed himself against the wall as something flashed overhead – Rosemon – and slammed into one of the Brimpmon trying to fly out of range. If she was gunning after them, he had to assume she'd dealt with Chaosdramon X, or crippled him enough that he was licking his wounds. That was great and all, but at this point, Ryo was dying to know what Vajramon was doing, and hey, why don't you throw in Zudomon while you were at it? _You think a huge walrus with a stupidly big hammer would be hard to lose._

He didn't dare break a window, even with the explosions seeming to go off closer and closer. Ryo waited until he could find one that had already been shattered by shrapnel, careful to mind the glass shards and working his way along the walls inside. He held his breath, hearing his heart going at it in his chest. It took him awhile to find the fire escape, Ryo navigating his way through the rubble and overturned desks, half expecting to run into a Digimon lurking in the shadows. They _should_ be out there fighting, but…

Ryo swallowed. Alone like this and it was starting to bring back some of Digital World. All the sneaking around, living from day to day. Hoping that shadow really was just a shadow. Hoping Cyberdramon would bust in and not –

_- and turn on him because he finally looked hard and saw that -_

He paled without realizing it, licking his lips. Took a breath. Ignored the two seconds of vertigo. Kept on trucking. Ryo picked his way up the stairs, stepping over what smelled an awful lot like something dead that had been here way too long, and came out on the fourth floor. The air here was choked with the smell of brimstone and ashes: Black Growlmon, if he had to place bets. If he was here, he was close by. Ryo paused by one of the windows, glancing out. The Brimpmon the Royal Knight had charged was now sinking fast in the sky, listing over as pieces of useless propeller crashed to the ocean below.

It was around the walkway that Ryo hit the jackpot. Creeping up to peek through the corner of the window, he caught a glimpse of Black Growlmon down below, literally spitting fire and looking steamed as he struggled against the chains tethering him in place, unable to talk with the muzzle in place. Apparently he hadn't bought the whole song and dance Vajramon must've told him.

Ryo almost wanted to slap him on the back. Then he remembered he'd probably get his head bitten off if he ever got that close.

As he watched, Black Growlmon craned his head to follow the battle above him. A yellow snake's eye contracted, then dilated. His nostrils flared. Tossing his head, he went back to jerking at the restraints like the world depended on it.

_Yeah, you keep doing that, buddy_, Ryo thought. _Knock yourself out._

First half of his job done, Ryo focused on ninjaing out again. It bothered him Vajramon wasn't right there trying to brainwash Black Growlmon into being useful and he guessed it was possible maybe he'd run off to deal with the Tamers himself. All the more reason to haul butt back to Alice. The building by now was shaking every couple minutes, one of them hard and close enough to knock him to his knees. Picking himself up, Ryo struggled not to cough on the dust. Direct hit on the building somewhere. Trying to move faster, Ryo opened the door to the fire escape and found that his way back had collapsed. Great.

He'd have to pick find another way down. The dust was thick in the air, forcing Ryo to cover his mouth with his sleeve as he felt his way along the walls. Place like this had to have more than one fire escape, right? He was so busy focusing on trying not to cough that he almost didn't see the shapes up ahead. The voices nearby caught his attention. Ryo caught himself and stopped, barely daring to breathe.

"I've swept for any enemy Digimon. We're still clear. Are you sure it's almost primed?"

It was that ugly one's voice – Kaminmon. The Digimon Renamon and Ruki were totally gunning for. The one that was all tusks and a horse's skeleton twisted in on itself. From here Kaminmon was a bony shadow, his back to Ryo. His tail swished in agitation, those blue eyes of his fixed on the Digimon he was bossing around. They were a bunch of Rookies Alice's report hadn't accounted for, so small that they'd probably been holed up inside Fuji TV for who knew how long.

"Positive!" One of the Rookies said.

"How long?"

"A few minutes to finish up and then we can start the countdown," the same one said. Probably the leader. To his credit, he wasn't cowering in front of Kaminmon's ugly mug. "How long do you need?"

"Long enough for us to get out of ground zero."

"We can do that. Easy-peasy."

To Ryo's surprise, Kaminmon sounded almost…regretful? It was downright freaky coming out of him. "My Mistress isn't here to thank you for your sacrifice, but I'd like to pay my respects."

"Don't mention it. Least we could do." The Rookie fell silent for a moment, tinkering away. "It's pretty bad back home, you know."

"How bad?"

"It's been spreading and …"

The Digimon continued to talk some more, but Ryo heard enough to decide he didn't like where this was going. It sounded seriously like trap material here. As in "bait in the Tamers and blow them sky high" trap material. Fun stuff. Maybe they'd got tired of letting the humans run around blaspheming all over the place; y'know, the usual. Looked like Vajramon planned to sacrifice some of his forces and they'd book it with Black Growlmon before this bomb – or whatever it was – went off in their faces.

Not exactly evil mastermind level stuff, but Ryo had to admit, it seemed effective to him. Nice and straightforward.

It might even explain why Black Growlmon was trying so hard to free himself. Obviously he wanted the honors of killing Jenrya and uploading Terriermon himself, so of course he wasn't backing this.

Ryo started to inch away, his D-Arc signaling to Alice, when his heel kicked against a piece of broken rebar on the floor he'd missed in the dust. It went skittering. Kaminmon whipped around.

Yeah, he was in trouble.

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Gargomon groaned. "_Him_ again?"

"Me again," Garurumon bared his fangs. He blocked the way further at the base of the Daikanransha Ferris Wheel, eyes blazing. "I was hoping I would run into you two. Maybe this time you'll see what it's like to be free!"

Those tails of his lashed again, whipping himself into a snarling frenzy. The Wolf pawed at the ground, that blue fire from before swirling around his muzzle as he paced back and forth like a caged beast. Suddenly he danced to the side and snapped to face them:

"_Howling Blaster_!"

His target wasn't Gargomon. Instead Garurumon shifted his head to the side:

"Jenrya!"

Gargomon clumsily threw himself to the side to protect his partner. The blast glanced off his gun arms and splashed into his face, a chill burning into his chest and past his fur. Garurumon didn't wait for them to recover – he definitely wasn't going to wait for Jenrya to slash a card – and he barreled right at them, that same blue fire now blazing around his muzzle again.

"_Freezing Fang!"_

He was only feet away when something slammed right back into him with all the force of a train, sending the Wolf sprawling with a yip. Jenrya rushed to try to put out the patches of Gargomon's fur that were still smoldering, risking a glance up. Leomon was covered head to toe in soot and it took a second to realize Juri was jumping down from his back and sliding down to help Jenrya.

"Think I'm okay," Gargomon said from the ground, only it was more of a pained wheeze. His teeth chattered. "I'm not on fire, am I?"

"We can handle this," Juri crouched down next to Jenrya. "You – "

Leomon let out a bone-splitting roar. They turned in time to see the librarian draw his sword, quick as lightning, and deflect the attack. Garurumon snarled in rage. This time he'd taken a potshot at Juri. The fire flared harmlessly to the side to spray against a shed nearby and suddenly there wasn't a shed, just a pile of frost-covered ash.

_Garurumon's targeting us._

It hit him then. They were a liability unless they could get some breathing space, all because Garurumon thought they were the bigger threat than anything else. Gargomon had pushed himself shakily to his knees.

"Could use a boost," Gargomon wobbled to his feet. "Something that has payback written all over it, okay?"

Jenrya nodded, trying to keep a level head and not focus on how Gargomon was staggering and looking like he'd like a good nap right there on the spot, or how his fur was singed and blackened in places. He rifled through his cards as Leomon kept his opponent busy. The two were dancing around each other, temporarily at a stalemate: Garurumon trying to sneak past and get to the humans and Leomon blocking him at each turn. They clashed with the deafening sound of sword meeting fangs, Garurumon trying to worry the weapon right out of Leomon's hands. The next second he fell back, feinted to the side, and tried to rush at Juri again. Leomon met him again with a roar. Sparks flew as metal ground against the Wolf's teeth.

Leomon threw his weight forward. His muscles bunched as he strained to hold his ground.

"Garurumon! You don't have to do this! Remember what Yamato Ishida meant to you!"

If there was anything that could distract Garurumon, it was that. Even snarling around the blade, he looked like he'd been kicked in the gut. Surprise and hurt flashed across his face. The last one to come was anger, boiling over as Garurumon's eyes went wild.

"He means nothing to me!" It was almost a scream. Garurumon threw himself at Leomon all over, forgetting about the children entirely.

Jenrya took the opening Leomon gave him. Both he and Juri slashed their cards at the same time:

"_Digi-Modify_! Defense Plug-In G, _activate_!"

"_Digi-Modify_! Sniper Phantom, _activate_!"

Gargomon sighted the scope on Garurumon. Even going berserk, Garurumon knew a bad deal when he saw one, the Wolf suddenly letting go of the sword and dancing backward, making sure to keep Leomon between him and Gargomon as a living shield. The shot narrowly missed Garurumon as he darted around the base of the Ferris Wheel.

Leomon turned to give Juri a look and a nod, and then took off after Garurumon. Jenrya was already checking through his guards and Gargomon hung back – in the shape he was in and the fact that Garurumon was all for taking out the humans first if he thought he could get away with it, it made way more sense for him to stand guard. At least with the Sniper Phantom, he'd get the drop on Garurumon instead of the other way around.

"Don't worry, Jenrya," Gargomon said over his shoulder. "We've got this!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo hit the floor with a thud that knocked the wind right out of him. He didn't even see Kaminmon turn and nail him with his tail, only registered suddenly being on the floor and the taste of blood pooling his mouth from where he'd bit himself, his shoulder feeling like it'd been popped right out of the socket. He spit the coppery taste out, rolled onto his back, and…found Ugly looming over him.

"I've been waiting for a chance to get one of you to myself," Kaminmon said. The shapeshifter straddled Ryo, hooves on either side. "Can't have you running back to the others, can we?"

Trying to regain his breath, Ryo caught a glimpse of the Rookies peering at him around their pet project. None of them looked like they were willing to suddenly jump ship, the lead engineer even smiling. Justice. Yeah, he guessed this was all justice to them. According to them, humans had brought the X-Virus with them…right there with everything _ever_ that was wrong in the Digital World. Because humans were totally the boogie monsters to all the Rookie boys and girls these days.

"Make it count," the leader Rookie chanted, sounding alive instead of resigned like before. "Make it count for us!"

Kaminmon sucked in a breath through his deformed fangs. "Oh, I _will_. It's a shame we don't have more time." He planted a hoof with deliberate care onto Ryo's shoulder, leaning down. Ryo grunted as pain bloomed out underneath the weight. "I suppose I will have to kill you quickly. It's more than filth like you deserve."

The Digimon pressed down harder, Ryo's vision whiting out as the pain evolved into something else entirely. He felt something crack under the pressure and heard someone cry out. Him. It was him. Jeez, he sounded like roadkill, he thought vaguely. Even writhing away instinctively he couldn't throw Kaminmon's full weight off him. Without realizing it, Ryo grabbed at whatever of Kaminmon he could, hands white-knuckling around his hocks. It was the blind kinda thing you did when you were hopped up on adrenaline.

Kaminmon jerked away from his touch, tearing his leg out of Ryo's grip.

The hoof came down again. This time Ryo lost full use of his arm as it went limp on him. Before he could flail around with the other one, one of the Rookies scurried over and held him down. Kaminmon tossed his mane.

"I won't have you spreading your contamination to me," Kaminmon said. "Nice try."

Ryo wanted to laugh in Kaminmon's face. Contamination? Did the idiot think _he_ was infected with the X-Virus? That only applied to – oh. Digimon. And, maybe, just maybe, anything else digital. For all he knew, he'd been infected, and it was going haywire with whatever else kept him ticking. All he knew was he couldn't use the "I'm a full-blooded human" as a defense here, not since last night. Ryo settled for glaring back up at Kaminmon, trying to keep a game face on. Best he could do. The joker _wanted_ to see him react.

Kaminmon lifted his hoof and positioned it over Ryo's head.

He had a feeling Ugly was going to drag his death out as much as he could, fast or not. Probably his sick way of making it up to the Rookies who'd signed up for a suicide mission.

"I wouldn't, if I were you. _Grau Lärm_!"

Kaminmon jerked up at Dobermon's voice. Ryo opened his eyes just in time to see Dobermon tilt his head back and howl. The effect was instant – Kaminmon backed away with a whine, shaking his head from side to side and spitting curses. The Rookie pinning him down scuttled off, leaving Ryo to get rescued by one of the last people on Earth who wanted to play hero for him. He managed to throw out his arm as Alice leaned down, Dobermon sprinting past. He had to kick with his leg to get settled behind Alice, and it was all he could do not get thrown off as Dobermon turned and booked it out of there like hell was on his heels. It took him a second to realize they'd come back for him; probably tracked him with the D-Arc, which was cool, except -

"Turn around!" Ryo yelled into Alice's ear. "Take out the Rookies!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

To her credit, Alice didn't argue. They were wheeling around and charging back the way they came the next second, Dobermon easily leaping over the ruins of a desk. Ryo hoped they'd make it.

It wasn't turning out to be their day. By the time they made it back, Kaminmon had recovered his abilities and now he was playing it by the Good Little Minion's Handbook: he'd ushered the last of the Rookies through that portal of his already with their mystery bomb and he was about to canter in himself. He turned as they came at him, flashed them his dentist's nightmare of a grin, and vanished into the portal with a smug flick of his tail. Dobermon skidded to a halt.

"It's probably a short jump if they're still planning on setting it off on Odaiba," Ryo gritted his teeth. By some miracle he was still holding onto Alice with his good arm. "But at this point they could be anywhere."

"We'll have to warn the others," Dobermon said as he turned. "Black Growlmon?"

"He's under the walkways. Are you serious?"

Alice shifted in front. "He's what we're here for. Did you at least find out the blast radius of this device?"

"Sure, Kaminmon was going to tell me before he caved in my skull," Ryo spat back.

"We'll have to assume at least all of Odaiba," said Alice, unfazed. "If it is a trap, they'd want to make sure we were at ground zero before any detonation."

Dobermon gave them a warning to hold on as they charged at one of the windows. They landed on the ground outside, Ryo about to say that _maybe_ they should be making sure all their escape routes were still open when he cut himself off. He didn't think there was much to surprise him anymore, but seeing the Daikanransha epically going down was pretty up there. A series of explosions went off at the Ferris Wheel's base, each bigger than the last, blue fire rippling up the seams like the world's biggest fireworks display going off at once and lighting it up from its very core.

Ryo shielded his eyes from the flash.

Less than a blink later, and the whole structure imploded on itself.

"It's Leomon, Juri, Gargomon, and Jenrya," Alice consulted her D-Arc. A blast of energy seared through the air before she finished speaking, needle thin, and yet even from here Ryo could smell the ozone from that one. It pierced through the debris cloud where the Ferris Wheel had been. This time there was a loud animal's whine that translated to a snarl.

If those four were tag-teaming like that, then Ryo figured they might still have a fight on their hands. He tried to ignore the feeling of a timer already ticking away…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I tagged him!" Gargomon crowed.

Despite the sucker punch before, actually getting a shot on the Wolf had done way more for him than any upgrades Jenrya could've given. Gargomon's arm glowed before returning to its normal size.

Jenrya was starting to feel better about this again. He'd never really fought next to Juri before, but she was focused in a way that he could see his martial arts teacher nodding and going _she'd do well in one of my classes_. Some of her card choices were…weird (he was starting to suspect she might be going off the pictures), but they were so weird it somehow _worked_. Anyway, they were enough to keep Garurumon off-guard and give them some breathing space.

He wished they hadn't taken out the Daikanransha while they were at it.

Garurumon vanished again through the cloud of smoke and rubble, limping badly, and howling for reinforcements who would probably be here in minutes. Leomon dropped back to join them as Jenrya checked his D-Arc. The number of enemy Digimon on Odaiba were halved, but for some reason a lot of the aerial forces kept out of the fight and were now pulled back to hover over the mainland. He could see the blip of Rosemon heading over to join Ruki and Kyuubimon.

Dobermon was breathing hard when he joined them, his flanks slick with sweat as he snorted and came to skidding stop. "We've found Black Growlmon!"

Jenrya's face lit up. "Really?"

"Don't get too excited," Ryo chimed up. He looked like he'd been rolled into a dirt pit and then kicked back out, his face covered with a layer of gray dust. He was holding himself awkwardly and didn't slide off Dobermon. "He's the bait. Odaiba's a trap."

"I already told Ruki. Rosemon's on her way to clear them," Alice added. Jenrya could see _that_ going down well – Ruki and Kyuubimon weren't the type to be the first to leave a fight and he could picture Ruki spitting fire about it.

"Probably got one shot at this. Either he comes or he doesn't."

"Garurumon's called in some friends," Jenrya said and knew before he finished speaking that Garurumon wasn't even on the table.

Ryo shook his head. "Bet you anything he's not even coming back. Even he's not that gung-ho to get deleted. C'mon!"

The group set out, Dobermon in the lead and rushing. Jenrya had no idea how this would turn out. They'd made it this far and it really had been too easy….but this was probably their one last chance to get Black Growlmon back. Jenrya focused on holding onto Gargomon as they charged Fuji TV. Gargomon was all focus now like the others and there was next to no talking. If this was a trap, Jenrya couldn't see Vajramon sticking around to hold the fort either, if he was even still on Odaiba. Then again, this was an Ultimate they were talking about. Maybe he could ride it out.

They hit the plaza, Fuji TV's distinctive globe hanging overhead.

Vajramon stood over Black Growlmon with Kaminmon by his side, the shackles around the prisoner's legs removed. One of those portals was already open. Vajramon snorted and cantered forward, not at all nervous about the fact he was badly outnumbered. Jenrya could feel that swell of energy around him like before.

"Ah, so I'm sure you've figured it out by now," Vajramon said. He hadn't bothered to unsheathe the twin swords at his side. "Not entirely surprising. You Tamers are more resourceful than we anticipated."

Kaminmon hissed in the back, Black Growlmon making angry noises behind his muzzle. Vajramon ignored them.

"I'd even give you the honor of fighting me personally, but we're on something of a schedule."

Jenrya could feel Black Growlmon's eyes pick him out of the group, settling on him and…staying there. He'd stopped struggling. Now he zeroed in on Jenrya, Jenrya doing his best not to get _too_ creeped out.

Jenrya surprised himself by speaking up. Even Ryo looked pretty close to gaping at what came out of Jenrya's mouth.

"Or maybe you're running because Rosemon's on her way and you're afraid of her like everyone else."

There was a long moment of silent, Vajramon's eyes narrowing. His tail flicked to slap against his flank, one of his hands now resting on the pommel of his sword. Jenrya had hit a nerve he hadn't known was there. But it wasn't just anger at this point. An Ultimate like Vajramon knew no matter what connections he had, he didn't stand a chance against a Mega like Rosemon if it was one-on-one. That tail flick was both anger and nervousness. Vajramon wanted to get out of Dodge after all.

"Her actions haven't gone unnoticed," Vajramon said. "You should be more worried about yourselves."

With that, he wheeled around and cantered through the swirling portal Kaminmon kept open for him. Kaminmon snapped at Black Growlmon. "You're next. I'll cover us."

Jenrya could see that Black Growlmon was on the edge, his head weaving as he glanced at the portal and then at Jenrya, like he was sensing this might be his last chance to get at the human. They all knew how he was itching to kill him, he'd made that clear the first time they'd ran into each other. It suddenly dawned on Jenrya what he had to do.

He felt like dirt. "Black Growlmon! Are you really going to let _him_ get the last shot at me?"

The Shadow was on the verge of making a decision, wavering on that knife's edge. Jenrya only had to push a little more.

"Come with us and you can get all the cracks you want at me. It beats this, doesn't it?"

That did it. Black Growlmon suddenly lunged away from his bodyguard, his head low as he charged the Tamers.

"No! What are you doing, you idiot!" Kaminmon's blue eyes went wide. He darted forward to sink his fangs into the meat of his charge's tail and started to drag him back. Black Growlmon roared in pain.

That was the signal for the group to dog pile on Kaminmon. Gargomon was the first to attack, followed by Dobermon. The first salvo of gunfire convinced Kaminmon to let go of Black Growlmon, the red beams of the Schwartz Strahl lancing out and forcing him to leap and dodge back even further. Leomon blocked Black Growlmon before he could make it to Jenrya, catching him with his claws.

"_Think about it_!" Leomon snarled into Black Growlmon's face, only inches away. "If you waste your energy trying to kill him now, you won't be able to save yourself and find your Tamer!"

Jenrya couldn't make out Black Growlmon's response with the muzzle in place, but it was probably as freaky as last time. That yellow eye of his fixed on Jenrya, burning with hate, but after what seemed like an eternity he eventually stopped trying to shove Leomon aside with brute strength. Jenrya was glad all over that Vajramon hadn't removed restraints on his arms. With his arms and jaws free, it might've been a different story.

Kaminmon was doing his best to hold his ground, trying to fight his way back to his charge. Now that he was over the initial surprise, he was already starting to recover, shaking past Dobermon's jaws snapping in for the kill, and about two seconds from going all out on Gargomon, his wings opening for another attack.

There was a low, rolling _bong_ then, a sound like a big bell ringing close by. Kaminmon's wings perked. He immediately began backing away.

"Fine. Die with them if you insist!" Kaminmon hissed. He turned and jumped through his portal as it snapped shut behind him.

Jenrya didn't have to tell everyone to move. Whatever the trap was, that was probably the signal. Gargomon picked him up like he weighed nothing and began booking it toward Rainbow Bridge with the others. Dobermon was the first to pull away as the fastest, Black Growlmon lagging behind almost as if he was keeping a possessive eye on "his" future kill. Jenrya tried to ignore the saliva trail oozing down out of the muzzle's seams, like the Champion was drooling at the thought, and turned to look to his right. Leomon had Juri on his back again, the girl's forehead smeared with soot. She had that shell-shocked look that said she was still getting used to being a Tamer. There hadn't been much time for her to get used to it before she got shoved into a battle.

He focused on the escape. If they didn't find a way off Odaiba fast, then they were going down with it.

"Head's up!" Ryo yelled.

Jenrya looked up. The remaining Darcmon had caught up, the flock soaring overhead, their shadows flitting on the street. Instead of attacking, they flew right over them and it took a moment for Jenrya to realize where they were going – they were blocking off one of the tunnels, closing the escape routes still left _fast_. His hunch was right as they pounded down the pavement only to find the tunnel entrance blocked by still-smoking rubble. The Darcmon were flying faster than they could run. Jenrya bit his lip, trying to think of ways out. He hadn't really gone _that_ much to Odaiba before and now he wished he had. If Ryo knew any way to ninja out, he wasn't sharing, and it was one of the rare times Jenrya had seen Ryo looking about as lost as he was.

Alice came to the same conclusion. "Rosemon's on her way, but even if she arrives on time, she can't carry all of us!"

Jenrya refused to say what everyone else was thinking. Their best bet was whatever remained of Rainbow Bridge. Maybe they could swim across. It sounded flimsy even to him, but since none of them could fly, there weren't many other options and it was at least trying _something_. He could feel Gargomon's breathing as they ran, his hand reaching up to touch his soft fur. The gun-bunny looked down at it him, offered him a tired smile, and kept on running. Whatever happened, they were in it together.

They reached the Odaiba side of Rainbow Bridge after what felt like forever. It was probably only a few minutes, but he kept waiting for the other ball to drop and for Odaiba to start imploding out from under them or something.

And just like that, he was totally proven right. Fuji TV flashed behind them.

It distorted upward like someone had grabbed it, digital lines flashing along its surface, the building a silhouette next to the tower of pulsing light that shot up to touch the barrier. With a snap it squashed down onto Fuji TV; steel screamed, the gas lines exploding as the buildings were pulled down on top of them, that invisible piston punching it down under sea level. The whole island shook. The digital lines began to spread like an infection, grabbing at anything they could reach and dragging them into the chasm growing where Fuji TV had been. Jenrya could hear the roar of the water rushing into the pit even from here. The aftershock hit them, a blast of Other, surprisingly cold and alien, that made the skin of his arms raise in goose bumps, and nearly bowled over Gargomon – he could feel his partner staggering and trying not to fall on him or the egg. For a second Jenrya saw digital after-images burned before his eyes.

It was sink or swim at this point. Literally.

The digital net spread and spread fast, gobbling up Odaiba into the pit. Most of Rainbow Bridge had been taken out by Chaosdramon X already. The Airdramon left concentrated their fire on whatever was left on their side. The barrage was nonstop, their mouths a glowing line. Jenrya didn't even know how they were going to face that. All he knew was if they made it that far, he'd be surprised.

"Hold on!" Gargomon shouted. There was a second to grab onto his fur as Gargomon took a running start at Rainbow Bridge's rubble and jumped off. Jenrya had a glimpse of Black Growlmon almost on top of them before they hit the water.

The cold smacked into him, Jenrya choking on sea water until the next moment they bobbed up. Without Jenrya weighing him down, Gargomon could've probably swam a lot faster, but he refused to let go of his human. Jenrya spit up sea water as he was carried along, looking to his left and getting a bad shock when he saw Black Growlmon only a yard away – the Shadow was doing pretty good considering he was still shackled at the arms, his head raised up so he could breathe, his tail slashing at the water and making him look like the meanest crocodile to ever exist. The others splashed into the ocean after Jenrya.

The current was strong, the kind which tugged and tried to pull you under, Gargomon having to fight to keep any forward momentum. Leomon looked like he'd manage, but Dobermon was carrying two. Alice and Ryo were barely able to keep their heads above the water.

_We're not gonna make it. _

Jenrya tried to use his free arm to splash along with Gargomon; he knew in the back of his head it wouldn't help him swim much faster, but still. Trying not to drown shot so fast up his priority list that he forgot about the bomb or the Airdramon waiting for them. He was so busy trying to do something, anything, that Jenrya didn't immediately register the splash ahead of him. It was the suddenly hot water churning into his face that made him look up.

The Darcmon flock circled overhead. Now that the Tamers were all stuck in the water, they were having a little fun keeping them from going any further. One of them hefted her sword, the weapon glowing white hot. She cawed out something to her sisters, who responded with a peal of laughter, and spun her blade with a flourish of her wrist before she took aim.

The giant hammer flying through the air shut her up.

Darcmon exploded into a cloud of data as the warhammer ripped through the flock, boomeranging back to its owner. Jenrya tried to blink the sea water out of his eyes, not sure if he could believe his eyes. Several hundred yards out a huge hand emerged from the water, the hammer smacking into its palm with a meaty thunk. Jenrya couldn't believe what he was seeing. _Zudomon_? If he didn't know better, he'd say the Ultimate was helping them.

The feeling of something settling under Gargomon's feet answered that question. Jenrya clung to his partner as _something_ surged up underneath everyone's feet, pushing up against the water with enough force to make that tidal current a joke. Whatever it was, it was massive.

"Ice!" Gargomon shouted. He fought to keep standing as the ice continued to push up.

The glacier bridge forming between them and the mainland crackled underneath their weight. It probably wouldn't hold forever and looking around frantically for Zudomon, Jenrya realized he might as well give up. The ocean was too choppy to make out any sign of Zudomon, the foam swirling past the ice bridge's columns toward whatever was left of Odaiba. For some reason one of their enemies had given them a way out, no questions asked. They might as well take it.

Dobermon once again led the group, Alice and Ryo clinging on. Jenrya spit out the last of the sea water as Gargomon pounded away, trying to ignore the heavier footsteps of Black Growlmon behind them.

"Hurry, Tamers!" Rosemon had caught up to them, a red and black streak in the air. If she was surprised at Zudomon's help, she wasn't showing it. "Don't look back! We'll handle the Airdramon!"

The Royal Knight dipped lower in her descent as she spoke, her battle-torn cloak snapping violently in the wind. She went for the humans, plucking Ryo and then Juri in each hand before tilting her face up and rocketing up and away.

Jenrya had to resist the urge do exactly what she said they shouldn't. He failed.

He looked back.

His face paled.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryo didn't think he was afraid of heights, but when you were shooting up hundreds of feet all of a sudden, you totally had second thoughts.

Somehow he didn't puke.

Ryo craned his head, trying to make sure Rosemon had a good hold on his shirt. The Royal Knight gave him a scare when she let go for a split second, his stomach dropping out as she looped her arm around his chest and caught him again, this time in a better grip than before, as if he was a sack of flour and that was it. He could see why she'd picked him up – he was injured, weighing Dobermon down – but Juri? Glancing over, he caught the look on her face. She didn't know either. Then again, she was probably too busy clinging onto the Knight's arm for dear life to start asking questions.

The bridge and the ocean below continued to get smaller and smaller.

"Where're Ruki and Kyuubimon?" Ryo had to holler himself hoarse to be heard over the wind. "They're going to get creamed out on that thing!"

"In place. I told you we would take care of the air support. Now be silent."

Ryo's mouth snapped shut. When a Mega told you to stop mouthing off, you tended to do it. Or at least give it a rest.

Up this high he finally had a chance to get a good look at Odaiba. _Or what's left of it_, he thought, because that was all you could say about the place. It was going down. What started out as an explosion at Fuji TV had expanded into a giant digital sinkhole big enough to dwarf Chaosdramon X several times over, the ocean rushing into the chasm. Huge waterfalls tumbled into the sinkhole and then blipped out with the pop-hiss of static. If it wasn't for Zudomon's help, the Tamers would've been pulled right into it. As he watched, more of those digital lines slapped up against building after building: pulling in apartments, parking structures, anything it could keep its hands onto. Those Rookies he'd seen had must've been deleted instantly.

Most of the island was gone. The ice bridge itself was already under attack, the first support where Zudomon saved them now twitching and then collapsing into data.

Rosemon didn't turn to look. The Airdramon had shifted at seeing their prey on the verge of escaping the trap and were now gathering to fire salvos at the bridge where its ice engulfed a dock. So fare they didn't notice the Royal Knight…

"Excellent," Rosemon said. "Hang on!"

Ryo took a page out of Juri's book and clung onto Rosemon as best he could. He had the impression of wind rushing past his ears, his eyes watering, and suddenly they were diving toward the mass of Airdramon. The Airdramon scattered at the sight of a Mega, some of them turning on their tails and trying to shoot at the blur.

Kyuubimon's voice rang out below. "_Foxtail Inferno_!"

Blue fire sprayed up from the ground and blasted into the Airdramon who'd fled lower than they should have. Sensing they were under attack from multiple fronts, the Airdramon spread out, their formation disintegrating as those at the edge wavered. For all Ryo knew, they were reconsidering this whole biomerging thing. It was one thing to round up some humans with sheer numbers at your back. Doing it with a Mega and her allies wasn't worth being deleted for. Several of the Airdramon outright ran away, booking it for the hills.

"They won't get far," said Rosemon. She ignored the rest as she descended, cradling her passengers gently.

When they landed, Ruki was out of the shadow of the warehouse to meet them. Juri stepped away from Rosemon with wobbling legs, Ryo annoyed to find that he wasn't doing much better. Rosemon was about to launch into the air again when Juri caught her by hand. She leaned down to listen to the human.

"Because Leomon asked me to, Juri Katou, in case it was needed," Rosemon said with a smile. With that she crouched and then shot back up into the sky. The backdraft kicked everyone back a step.

"What was that about?" Ruki asked.

"I wanted to know why she took me instead of anyone else when we were running from Odaiba," Juri's face went red. She might be new to the whole Tamer thing, but Ryo could see that her and Leomon already had that the whole partner, it's-us-forever thing down.

Ruki snorted. She looked like taking potshots and wiping out a horde of Airdramon wasn't her idea of a good time – she was probably sore about being given the luggage treatment by Rosemon. The look on her face softened slightly as she took in the other girl's expression before she turned to Kyuubimon, ready to slash another card. Kyuubimon was firing indiscriminately at the Airdramon, her fur glowing with the amount of data she had already uploaded. A red streak blurred past as Rosemon took on the last of the Coredramon, her whip cracking in the air loud as thunder.

Ryo turned back toward Odaiba. A final burst of light forced him to shade his eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ice bridge buckled underneath Gargomon's feet.

"Oop!" Gargomon jumped the giant crack splitting right where he'd been about to step, giving an awkward half-hop over it before he continued charging after Dobermon.

Jenrya held on. There wasn't much he could do aside from that and keep glancing over his partner's shoulder: Odaiba was totally gone now, what had been a row of lights and skyline a big nothing. The sinkhole had expanded to eat up the entire island and now cast off a sickly green light. He didn't need to look down to know that digital net was about two seconds from destroying the bridge out from under them.

Black Growlmon was still plugging away within biting distance. Naturally.

The sinkhole flashed then with a final pulse. Jenrya had a split second's realization to see they were almost within reach of the bridge's end – Dobermon was already crossing over, when the aftershock hit them. Dobermon went sprawling. Leomon made a last ditch jump for the concrete corner of the dock and barely, just barely, made it. The ice under their feet disintegrated, dumping Gargomon, Jenrya, and Black Growlmon into the churning ocean waiting for them.

The water rushed past, sucking Jenrya out of Gargomon's arms like it was nothing. He couldn't make out where the surface was, trying to fight his way to air and trying not to panic as he tumbled through the water.

It didn't seem to matter what he did.

His lungs burned. Jenrya couldn't hold his breath any longer – it exploded out of him all on its own. The next thing he sucked in was sea water. The burning continued, getting worse, the kind that started in your chest and bled everywhere –

Suddenly he was being scooped out of the water. Jenrya was distantly aware of being dropped off on what felt like solid ground, real solid ground, before that arm from before stepped away. He coughed and hacked up sea water, Gargomon rushing to his side as he doubled over.

"Jenrya!" Gargomon hovered over him, anxious. Jenrya had to wave him off as he got through another coughing attack. His ribs by now were beyond just aching.

It took him a bit to feel better, looking up. Gargomon looked like he'd been tossed into a washing machine and left on spin, but – Jenrya did a head count – it looked like everyone was here. Everyone except – nevermind. There he was. Jenrya turned as Rosemon came back with her last catch from the ocean: she lifted Black Growlmon like he weighed nothing, the water running from her armor.

"It's stopped," Rosemon said. "For the time being, anyway."

Black Growlmon's eyes were narrowed distrustfully through the muzzle at the Royal Knight. No matter his beef with the Tamers, even he had to know he couldn't pull anything with a Mega here. Jenrya wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Thanks, Rosemon."

"Of course."

"We better pull back," Ruki interrupted, busting in before this could get all wishy-washy. "In case they decide to actually make sure we're dead."

Jenrya couldn't argue with that. He also didn't argue when Gargomon reached down and picked him up, even though he didn't ask. At this point, he was too tired to care. It hadn't even really sank in _they'd done it_. They had Black Growlmon. Despite Odaiba's destruction, despite the trap and despite going in with a plan that could've fallen apart at any second, they'd won.

Now came the hard part…convincing him to actually help them.

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They shifted in their safe corner of Tokyo. Safe was relative, of course, according to Jenrya, but most importantly they had resources. Resources that their Masters were foolishly squandering.

Enough was left to feel Odaiba black out on them, permanently. All their connections went offline at the same second.

Jenrya was distracted by that, sitting next to him and going over the damages to their systems. He even nibbled at his finger as he frowned. It would've been convincing if it wasn't for that fact that the nail was over an inch long and curved like a beast's claw. Takato Matsuda sat next to him, shoulder touching shoulder, feeling the new mutations on Jenrya's body from here – more armored plates where there should've been skin, like Jenrya wasn't even trying to pass as human. He didn't dare look over.

He _remembered_.

Takato remembered what Jenrya told him days ago. He remembered the lie. Jenrya offering two deaths. Having to say yes but thinking "no" with everything he had. Maybe he'd cried then. Someone used to call him a crybaby, hadn't they? Takato had no idea what to do with the fact he was still here, or the fact somehow Jenrya hadn't picked up on it, hadn't turned those alien eyes on him and read him like before. Maybe he was too busy. Maybe it had to do with Odaiba? He'd no idea.

In fact, Jenrya didn't even seem to notice him there at all. He must've thought everything went just like it was supposed to.

Jenrya wasn't everywhere. He'd lied about that too.

**Odaiba is lost**. Jenrya concluded. **Where is our partner?**

_Black Growlmon's _my_ partner_!

**To be continued...**

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	30. Black Growlmon's Closure

**Digital Shuffle**  
by Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon Tamers  
**Author's Note**: One of the Tamers reaches Ultimate. Thank you for reading :)

Reviews are appreciated, but they don't determine how long I take on chapters.

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Black Growlmon's Closure)

Kincaid was angry. So angry, in fact, that she was barely holding her human shape. If even that.

Vajramon could feel her anger, and, glancing aside at her, he saw her skin rippling uncontrollably as her temper rose. Brown fur spurted up in patches only to smooth back into the pink of a human's pathetically vulnerable skin. Her silver eyes bugged, looking too big for a human's normal proportions, small fangs peeking out her mouth as she talked. He hadn't seen her this angry in years.

"Fleeing like a coward!" Kincaid sneered. All her smiles from earlier were gone. "I should've gone myself!"

Kaminmon cowered, his eyes lowered. His Mistress wasn't done by any means. Next to her, Vajramon stood impassive, his tail every now and then flicking. The truth was they both probably should have stood their ground. But Kincaid would argue that as the Founder, he was too valuable to lose, even to kill the Tamers. It would be one thing if the bridge between the Real World and the Digital World was wide open. The same excuse didn't hold true for her servant, not in her mind.

Kincaid's hands clenched at her sides, an unconscious human gesture she picked up somewhere. "The Juggernaut can't locate Black Growlmon. He would have been a valuable recruit, especially if he could digivolve in his mutated form, but your cowardice cost us."

"I failed you, my Lady," Kaminmon hadn't moved, didn't dare to. "Forgive me."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Vajramon watched as Kincaid blew up.

The Deceiver's human mask exploded off her like burning ashes: first the skin boiled off, quick as a flash, her brown fur sprouting again in audible pops. Her ears changed shape, her eyes spreading and growing larger and larger. A prehensile tail lashed out as she lost a foot or so of her human's height. Makuramon's big silver eyes blazed as she glared at her servant. There might be a physical size difference between them, but if she wanted to delete Kaminmon, she could without a thought. Vajramon had seen first hand what sort of fighter she was, way back before she made Council. It was…prudent to sometimes observe and observe only.

"Forgive you? _Forgive you_!" Makuramon leaned forward, her tail snaking around her ankles. "Ha! I trusted you with a task I would trust to no other and this is what happened! I made the wrong choice saving you from being a Golem."

Vajramon watched as Kaminmon quivered in shame and fear. As his lady's favorite subject, he wasn't used to this other side of her. Vajramon finally spoke up.

"Perhaps we ought to focus on the present, my dear," Vajramon kept his voice unhurried. He found if you catered to Makuramon's anger, you only fueled it. Not reacting was the best thing one could do. "We still need to find him. And thanks to the losses at Odaiba, we need further reinforcements."

Makuramon sucked in a hiss through her small fangs. "Right. I'll send out the call."

"The Knight of Thorns defecting complicated things," Vajramon added, trying to smooth things over. "Her presence alone might give Zudomon pause."

They still didn't know how those Tamers escaped the trap, seeing as next to none of their own forces made it out of Odaiba. There had to be _some_ survivors who witnessed the Tamers escaping but if they existed, they had fled and didn't dare show their faces to make a report. It occurred to Vajramon they needed better recruits. Apparently loyalty and honor wasn't what it used to be. Makuramon didn't quite deflate at the mention of Zudomon but her fur finally stopped rising into spiky hackles, which was close enough. Apparently she'd had the same suspicions too about the Shield's loyalty.

"Probably. Those eight had always been oddly close," Makuramon said. "Thankfully it seems the humans here haven't figured how to digivolve their slaves to past Champion."

Vajramon nodded. It was more difficult for these Tamers compared to the last batch of humans. Still, they had already surprised them several times so far. _Never say never_, that sort of thing. It was one of the few human phrases that Vajramon decided was apt and worth keeping.

"Even so, there should be more precautions taken. I'd request the Devas loyal to the cause to biomerge. As far as I can tell, the remaining Royal Knights have no intention of following after Rosemon. If we continue to run into more trouble, there's a chance the Sovereign of Fire will want to see to this personally."

They both exchanged looks. The Sovereign One was sympathetic to their cause, but for him to have to biomerge…well, that was something of a last resort. A Holy Beast shouldn't need to defile himself coming _here_, surely! Vajramon would've said they didn't need it, if it wasn't for the fact these Tamers kept growing in numbers and not dying like they were supposed to. He'd almost forgotten what a stubborn species humans were. Now he had a crash course in it all over again.

"Fine, fine," Makuramon said. She waved it away and wheeled back on her disgraced servant. "As for you. I'll give you one more chance to make up for Odaiba."

Kaminmon's eyes jerked up though his head remained bowed. Vajramon had a feeling he knew where this was going, his bull's snout twitching. Makuramon's favoritism only went so far, especially under these circumstances.

"Take those Ogremon and find Black Growlmon. Do whatever it takes. Bring him to me or don't come back at all."

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Janyuu Lee insisted on celebrating.

He didn't say why but Jenrya thought it was because they all came back in one piece. Next thing he knew, Janyuu was recruiting others, starting first with Ruki's mom: Rumiko was all for it, rolling up her sleeves and putting her back into figuring out how they could have a party with instant noodles and the other stuff they'd scrounged up now that they were all homeless for the time being. She was sure they could manage, she smiled. Next up was Ryo, then Reika.

All Jenrya knew was when he got back from another supply run, checking for any food they could find in Shinjuku's ruins, his Dad had already started to transform the shelter. Walking back with a box of dried food, Gargomon walking next to him with his own load, Jenrya stopped short: streamers crossed the ceiling, the shiny stuff you could get at a store…back when the stores weren't buried under heaps of smoking rubble, but here they were. Some construction paper had been cut into uneven shapes – Jenrya figured that was probably Shuichon, insisting on helping – and taped to the walls of the tunnel. With the red lighting, you couldn't really get the full effect, but still. It did make him stop.

Jenrya caught Ruki at the next turn of their shelter. The other Tamer had a strange look on her face – a sour one, like she was trying hard to frown and not quite making it.

"You better watch out," Ruki said. "You go in there, you'll be roped in like everyone else."

"That bad, huh?" Jenrya smiled.

"It's stupid," Ruki said. "Us throwing a party every time we win a fight!"

Jenrya thought about it. "I think it's more for our parents, you know? But you have to admit we pulled off Odaiba."

Ruki chewed that one over, the girl frowning. She shrugged.

"Barely. We wouldn't have made it if Zudomon hadn't stepped in."

Jenrya had to admit she was right. "I wonder why he did that. I thought he was on their side."

"Who knows?" Ruki said. "You seen my mom?"

"She's probably with my dad. He recruited her."

"Oh brother," Ruki rolled her eyes. "I better go find her. She loves parties."

Ruki sounded almost fond despite herself. Jenrya didn't know much about her family, but from what he'd seen of them so far, it wasn't like they were super close. Maybe Ruki was seeing a side of her mom she hadn't before, now that Tokyo was under attack. Jenrya stepped aside to let Ruki go past. Gargomon grunted next to him, peeking over his box of supplies.

"What's wrong with parties? Parties are great!" Gargomon sounded put out.

Jenrya smiled. "She's just saying that."

He walked along the tunnel with his partner. They were silent for a bit, each to their own devices. Gargomon was the first to speak up again.

"I think your dad's right. It's about time we had something to celebrate."

Jenrya nodded. It'd been different before, when they were only fighting a few wild Digimon here and there. Going up against an organized force was another thing in itself. Jenrya shook his head. Dad was right. Maybe he should focus on today instead of worrying non-stop about tomorrow or yesterday. After all, he wasn't the one involved – his dad and sister were, for starters, nevermind Ruki's and Takato's families. If anything, they could use the distraction.

Actually, they all could, come to think of it. If he'd had it his way, Odaiba wouldn't have been destroyed. They couldn't change what happened to the island. But at least they found Black Growlmon and that meant they were that much closer to finding Takato.

So he guessed Gargomon had a point: it was worth celebrating.

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Ryo Akiyama stuck around longer than he meant to at Janyuu's party thing. It wasn't like anything he'd expected – it wasn't off the walls like the parties he'd snuck into back in the Digital World. It wasn't even like the last party he remembered as a human – his birthday the year before he left home. This was different; quieter, mostly an excuse for everyone to get together without talking about the future. Ryo liked it. He actually surprised himself by having fun. Even caught himself smiling when he wasn't paying attention.

It felt good.

He could almost forget all those birthdays in the past hadn't been his. He wasn't even old enough for them, according to Rosemon.

But today Ryo told himself all that stuff could screw itself. For once he'd enjoy himself. There was something kinda infectious about surviving death with a bunch of other people. Probably some group mentality thing. At this point, Ryo wasn't complaining.

The families mingled over food and some dog-eared board games – the Matsudas tried to put on a brave face and meet with the others. The Lees immediately took them under their wing, Janyuu kidnapping Takato's dad for "improvised baking", whatever that meant. It sounded ominous. Ryo had no idea how he planned that without any working ovens. Somehow Janyuu dug up a working CD player, even found some batteries, and now they were playing some music in the back. It might be on repeat, but no one seemed to notice. That Reika lady from Hypnos was sitting with Shuichon and painting her nails, pulling out blue nail polish from her purse. Even Alice had been bribed over somehow. She sat with Ruki, going over their cards, their knees brushing as she held up one and did one of those soft almost-smiles of hers. Talking about battle strategies did that to her – something she had in common with Ruki.

Alice's eyes happened to meet his from across the room. Ryo looked away first.

Okay, awkward. He knew he should tell her she was right, tell her the truth because it was the right thing to do, but he didn't even know where to start. Clinging onto his old life felt easier. At least if he was going to do anything, it wasn't going to be today. Ryo wandered away to check up on the improvised baking, a cup of lukewarm punch in his hand, a sandwich in his other. Given most civilians had already abandoned the area, they still found some food if they went out on supply runs. Right now even lukewarm, this punch tasted _great_.

He peeked in on the baking and backed right out again. He had no idea what was going on in there, but it looked like someone covered in flour was wrestling with a cake and losing.

Eventually Ryo went looking for Rosemon. Hard not to miss her and he could make a guess where she was – interrogating Black Growlmon. Making sure the beast didn't decide now was a great time to crash Janyuu's party. Ryo wandered the length of the tunnels and the service off-shoots until he found Rosemon in a service room big enough to hold two Digimon. He could hear their voices before he saw them; hers was lilting, measured, his was angry and dropping to a scared growl every now and then. He peeked in.

Black Growlmon had his head to the floor, one claw slung over it as he whined. Every now and then he would rub his snout against the concrete like he was trying to get rid of a giant itch. Rosemon sat cross-legged in front of him, her beautiful face tilted toward him, her hands resting across her knees. Her silver whip kept Black Growlmon tethered where he was and even his teeth couldn't cut through. It didn't stop the beast from trying every now and then. Ryo had to give him points for effort.

"You're one of the most truthful Digimon I've met," Rosemon was saying. "You believe everything you say. And you say this swarm buzzing in your head, that's natural?"

Black Growlmon snarled from the floor. "It's always been there!"

"Has it?"

"Go away! I told you I want to be alone!"

Rosemon laughed – a strong laugh, like a crystal bell. "Now you're lying, young one. Lies don't suit you. You've not very good at it."

Black Growlmon surged up from the floor, jaws gaping, and went for the Knight of Thorns. His fangs snapped around her arm, Rosemon letting the beast chew on her gauntlet for a bit before she pried him off as easily as a child. His teeth screeched against metal.

"The last thing you need to be is alone and you know it too, deep inside," her voice rang out. "I'm trying to help you help yourself. Now sit!"

The Shadow dropped back down to his position on the floor, glaring that snake's glare, before he went back to trying to rub his head with those compulsive, twitching jerks. Rosemon was still watching him when she spoke up without raising her voice.

"Why don't you come in, Ryo."

Ryo started. Oh yeah, she had that crazy sixth sense of hers. No point pretending he hadn't been caught eavesdropping. Ryo stepped inside warily, all too aware of how fast Black Growlmon could move if he decided he wanted a bite-sized snack. Rosemon motioned for him to sit down at her side, Ryo obeying and feeling dwarfed next to the Mega. It felt weird to be in on this, because if you asked him, he would've said Jenrya should been in on this instead. Jenrya was Takato's best friend, after all. Then again Jenrya was also at the top of this monster's hate list, so maybe Rosemon didn't want to set him off again.

"Why's he here?" Black Growlmon sounded almost tired. He gave a lazy crocodile blink. "It's bad enough you won't let me kill Jenrya and get it over with."

"Because he can help in his own way," Rosemon said serenely. "And I wish it."

Ryo shot her a startled look. Uh, that was news to him.

"You're both without your partners," Rosemon went on. Ryo stared at the floor. He wasn't even sure he could call _him_ his partner anymore, even if the Knight didn't make the same distinction. "You both know that loss. It defines you."

He could feel Black Growlmon's yellow eyes burning into him. Judging. Searching for that same pain. Ryo swallowed. He didn't know what game Rosemon was playing right now, if she was lying to Black Growlmon and spinning a story or she was gonna go in guns blazing and spill everything she knew about Ryo the Fake to this beast because honesty was the best policy. The thing was, Ryo couldn't tell Black Growlmon the real truth even if he wanted, not when he didn't remember it himself. Hearing it from Rosemon wasn't the same. He'd just be repeating what she said. It wouldn't feel real to him and he figured Black Growlmon would pick up on that.

Ryo decided he better go with what he believed happened. It still felt real to him, at any rate.

He just had no idea how long _that_ would last.

"I thought we were like this," Ryo crossed his fingers. "Like if Cyberdramon had me, everything would be okay. It was us versus the whole Digital World." He faltered. This wasn't stuff he'd talked about before. It was personal, the kind of thing Ryo kept close because in the end what he felt was all he had left, even sprawled in the desert half-dead. "Without him there, I feel like – like I'm nothing. I wasn't enough for him. Maybe I never was and he finally figured it out."

He felt his throat close up then. It hurt, just as raw and real as before.

All he knew was he had Black Growlmon's undivided attention. Rosemon said nothing.

Ryo licked his lips and went on. By some miracle his voice didn't break – it came out dead, flat-lined. Aching. "I wish I'd played it smart. Every day I think about what I should've done differently. What I did wrong. If there was another way I could've held on tight."

The beast across from him had stopped rubbing his head against the concrete as Ryo talked, that yellow eye with the slitted pupil on him. Ryo realized he was clenching his fingers in his lap and forced his hands to relax. It was a totally different level of hurt Ryo didn't think any of the current Tamers could understand. Not really. Not like here. Everyone in this room, though, had gone through it. Rosemon was still as a statue next to him, hardly seeming to breathe. The way Black Growlmon looked at Ryo now was different, less like he was a snack on two legs and more like a potential ally.

"You know, human. Let me go. _Please_," Black Growlmon's voice was barely above a whisper. "I want my Tamer. If I could just kill Jenrya, I could free Takato and everything would be like before."

Ryo almost laughed, the kind of laugh when you couldn't even be surprised anymore. Yeah, yeah. He got how Black Growlmon could come to that conclusion. Partners made you crazy in all the best and worst ways. Next to Ryo, Rosemon shifted.

"You know Ryo can't do that while I'm here," Rosemon said.

"Even you need to sleep."

Rosemon smiled. "Oh yes, I suspect so. But I'd like to speak with you more, youngling. Why don't we talk about Jenrya? How would killing him make a difference?"

Ryo took that as his unspoken cue to get lost. He slipped out as Black Growlmon hissed at the Knight and slapped his tail sullenly on the floor. It was awhile before Rosemon took a break. She stepped outside the room, startling Ryo awake. He hadn't realized he'd dozed off against the wall. The Royal Knight acted like she'd expected him right where she found him, her boots clicking to a stop.

"You did well, Ryo," Rosemon said. She knelt so they were more or less at eye-level, her cloak pooling on the floor. "Thank you for your assistance."

He scowled. "I didn't do anything. I don't even know if I was lying or telling the truth."

"Do you want to?"

Ryo figured he should say hell no, he was tired of her dropping stuff in his lap. He surprised himself by saying yes.

"What you said was from here," Rosemon touched his heart, her smile almost pitying. "Lies can be based around a truth. This is the one you built yourself around. It's why you were able to pull it off as long as you did."

Ryo gazed up at the Knight, taking in the curve of her lips, the glint of her armor's engravings. So he guessed that was the one thing he knew for sure he hadn't made up, like it was any consolation. Both the real him and…whatever he'd convinced himself he was now agreed on something. Real-him and fake-him having overlap? He tried not to think about how creepy that was. Rosemon rose to her feet.

"Black Growlmon requires more interrogation, but I believe if he is going to help us, he will need closure." She paused. "Or at least an assurance we are strong enough to save his human. Perhaps both."

"You figure out the Jenrya angle yet?" Ryo asked. Talking about the interrogation seemed somehow safer.

"We are making progress. I will let you and the others know when I have something more substantial."

Rosemon turned and went back into the room with Black Growlmon, leaving Ryo alone in the hallway.

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He was trapped in more ways than one.

Takato Matsuda's memories came in fits. It seemed like there was more since yesterday and the day before, jittering in and out ever since Odaiba.

Jenrya was off somewhere. Doing Jenrya stuff, probably. _Juggernaut_ stuff, Takato reminded himself. This was and wasn't Jenrya. It was really really hard to keep them separate most of the time and he guessed that part of him was still broken. He almost could feel it like a real thing, feel it linking back to Jenrya like a rope connecting the two of them. If Takato pulled too hard and too fast, he'd give himself away. Jenrya would come running. So he kept himself as small as possible, barely daring to breathe – not that he needed to breathe here – and waited.

Takato wanted to be sure. The way his memories came back, sometimes he couldn't remember what really happened and what was something bleeding in from the Juggernaut. What may have been one of those memories from all the people Jenrya deleted and uploaded. Once he remembered playing with his pet golden retriever, for example, only to remember his mom and dad had a strict no-pets policy. So, okay, maybe he wasn't _the_ most reliable. You try having bits and pieces of other people suddenly in your head.

All he could tell was Jenrya was unhappy with the Odaiba thing. Very unhappy. Concerned, even.

The question was: what did Jenry – the Juggernaut do when it was "concerned"?

Takato wasn't sure he wanted to know.

**Data upload projection to completion…[loading] …65.10% and rising.**

The Juggernaut kept a close eye on that. Even with the earthquake and the damage to Tokyo, the Golems still streamed in to gather the data from the millions of humans trapped in the city. Whatever Jenrya thought, it still planned to carry out the Council's breach of the Digital World. It…did have other ideas, however. Contingency plans.

Other concerns.

Tokyo's new isolation hadn't gone unnoticed by the outside world. Jenrya knew about the D-Reaper, almost ready in a far away place named Silicon Valley, the threat called Rob McCoy pushing for an even earlier release date. If the D-Reaper went fully active, it could ruin the Digital World's plan.

**Data upload projection to completion…[loading] …65.13% and rising.**

They debated deploying a preemptive tactical strike. So far Jenrya hadn't come to a decision, which was…weird for him. Maybe they couldn't extend out that far to get access to missiles. Not yet, anyway.

Takato didn't know.

Maybe it had something also to do with the fact they still hadn't found Black Growlmon. Takato let himself feel happy. Okay, so he couldn't pinpoint Black Growlmon either, but the thing was, he could still feel him, at least enough to know his partner was alive, out there somewhere, and that he was on his side and not the Juggernaut's. He'd always be on his side. It meant the world to him to know he still had some real friends out there. Takato clung to that. That, at least, felt like it was his and not something that could blur in and out on him.

Takato wished he could reach out to Black Growlmon. Will it to happen, like before. (That did happen, right? Like really happened?).

Maybe he could, the longer he was able to think without Jenrya overriding him. He thought he could. It'd happened before. The main thing was he needed time…

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Jenrya was checking up on Darcmon's egg when Ryo caught up to him a few days later. He turned as the other boy cleared his throat.

"So that's it, huh?" Ryo dipped his chin at the egg.

"It" was bundled up in a bunch of towels and what was a sweater for someone way bigger than him. Jenrya had a feeling it probably wasn't the best nest you'd stick it in, if they were going with the best case scenario here. From the tiny smile tugging at Ryo's mouth, he was right. Jenrya nodded as Ryo let himself into the room, the red glow from the emergency lights washing out his face and casting him in harsh shadow.

"Wonder if she'll partner up. Out of the egg like that they're impressionable," Ryo remarked.

Jenrya made a face. "That's not why we took her with us."

"Yeah, yeah. You're just so squishy." Coming from Ryo, that was friendly. "Still, if she hatches soon you're gonna have a big food problem. They're even worse about inhaling the stuff when they're young."

"I'll file that away," Jenrya said, not sure what to make of Ryo being helpful here. "How's the Black Growlmon thing going?"

Ryo didn't answer at first, instead dropping to his knees next to the egg and running his hand across the smooth surface. He idled by the egg and, maybe it was a trick of the light, but Jenrya thought he almost looked sad. He must've been imagining things because when Ryo got to his feet and turned to face him, he had the same expression as before.

"Pretty good. Rosemon has her ways."

"You think he'll help?"

Ryo shrugged. "Most likely he'll have some demands. They're still negotiating the whole Jenrya deal."

Jenrya tried not to look too queasy. He still didn't get why Black Growlmon had it in for him and wished he could sit down and _talk_, ask why without the Digimon glaring death at him. Ryo met his eyes and gave one of those sardonic smiles of his, like he could read his mind and go _yeah, it's screwy, isn't it_.

"C'mon, your dad's making noises about lunch," Ryo said. "Dobermon said he'll watch the egg for now."

The two boys headed back to where everyone was gathered, Jenrya thinking about Odaiba. Hard to realize it was gone. Like really gone. As gone as you could get. According to Alice's scouting report, the sinkhole where the island had been finally closed up, the sea water rushing in until you couldn't tell Odaiba had been there unless you knew where it was. He tried not to think about if any humans had been trapped there during the fighting, or when the bomb had gone off. If Ryo had the same thoughts, he wasn't sharing them with the rest of the class.

Jenrya could smell the cooked food – canned or powdered, he didn't ask anymore – from here when Terriermon came running toward them, his ears flapping behind him.

"Jenrya!" Terriermon bowled to a stop, huffing and puffing, and nearly ran headfirst into Ryo's legs. Ryo stepped aside just in time. "You're not gonna like it!"

"What's going on? Like what?"

Terriermon shook his head, trying to shush his partner before the other humans close by could hear him. "Sssh! Follow me."

He could see even from behind that Terriermon was nervous – really nervous – maybe more nervous than the morning before Odaiba. Spooked, too. Jenrya hurried after his partner down what seemed like endless lengths of red-lit tunnel. Ryo followed, the other boy on his heels as they came to a stop in time for Rosemon to step outside. She was unflappable as always, Jenrya wincing slightly at that invisible pressure radiating out from her in soft waves.

"Ah, there you are," said Rosemon mildly. "I believe I have come to something of an understanding with our guest."

The way she said "guest", you could almost forget Black Growlmon was their prisoner.

"However, there will be no further negotiation until you prove yourself."

Jenrya wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. "Did you find out why he hates me?"

"Not yet. I will. But I suggested you are not the enemy he thinks you are and I think he believes that much now. You don't have the right eyes, he said." Rosemon tilted her head. "Unfortunately building trust takes time and time is not something we have. To gain more, we need to give something back."

"So what's this understanding?" Ryo asked. He sounded resigned.

Terriermon made a soft noise at his partner's feet; apparently he'd already been filled in and he didn't like it one bit. Rosemon glanced over her shoulder, then back at Jenrya.

"Proof. He needs to believe you are strong enough - both of you - to rescue his Tamer. In short, he demands to judge you himself," the Knight of Thorns went on. "A battle between you and him. If he deletes Terriermon or kills you, then so be it. Undeniable proof you couldn't help yourselves, much less his beloved human."

"I…" Jenrya trailed off.

"If you beat him, then Black Growlmon will help us and do his best to reign his urges," Rosemon held up an armored hand. "You must understand he has been deeply warped by whatever hurt him and his human. For him to be open to even this sort of deal is progress."

Jenrya knew without looking at Terriermon they were in this together. If this was what it took… "But what about the others? My dad?"

"You may tell them or not tell them, just as you may accept or not accept our guest's demand. It changes nothing."

"Can you give us a sec? Thanks." Ryo didn't wait for Rosemon to nod, turning and grabbing Jenrya by the arm and pulling him aside. Ryo's voice was a hushed hiss. "You can't do this. You're too valuable to give it up for some one-sided death match."

"And what if this is the only way?" Jenrya shot back.

"Then find another way, hotshot."

Terriermon spoke up from Jenrya's ankles. "Ryo, we need Black Growlmon on our side. And I think I can protect Jenrya."

"What makes you think this time will be any different?"

Jenrya's mouth set in a determined line. "Rosemon's right. If we want him to trust us, we have to give him a reason."

Ryo was already shaking his head, muttering about "crazy Tamers" and something that sounded suspiciously like he couldn't believe Jenrya and Terriermon made it this far with that attitude. They all knew he couldn't stop them – even if he went off to tell Janyuu, there wasn't much else the adults could do either. This was bigger than them, anyway. Even with Rosemon here, they were still outgunned and maybe they'd gotten stupidly lucky surviving Odaiba. Ryo blew out an explosive breath.

"Okay, so what do I tell your dad and your sister?" Ryo went for the low blow.

Jenrya sighed. "I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't say anything. It'd…it'd probably be easier."

There was a silent "just in case" worked in there. Jenrya knew if he told anyone else it'd spread to everyone like wildfire and the others wouldn't be so willing to trust Black Growlmon to follow through. He could easily see Ruki and Renamon jumping in on this. Jenrya was afraid the longer he had to think, the more tempting it would look to back out and second-guess his options and consequences. It flashed over him that was how a lot of this started – he'd spent so much time waffling and trying to keep Guilmon out of this that he hadn't acted when he should've. Now he was determined not to make that mistake all over again.

Rosemon waited for them next to Black Growlmon's cell. "I will bring you in to see him now. Hearing it from you personally will build that foundation of trust."

Jenrya didn't look over his shoulder as they went in, Terriermon perched on his head. He could feel Ryo's black eyes burning into his back.

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Black Growlmon had to give this Jenrya credit – the evil little beast was willing to put himself in the line of fire.

Another thing that didn't add up to what he knew about Jenrya. The Jenrya _he_ knew was all about survival, to the point where he'd probably even be willing to use Takato as a shield if he thought he needed to. Black Growlmon quivered as Jenrya and Terriermon entered. It was the eyes. They weren't silver ringed by black, like they should've been. And Jenrya talked with his mouth! Weird. Freaky. But the face was the same, that same hate surging up in him the second the human stepped into his prison cell. It took everything he had not to rush him and try to snap his head off. The only thing that stopped him was _Her_ stepping in behind Jenrya.

Black Growlmon pressed his head to the floor with a snarl, that pressure from Her pushing at him. Rosemon was so distracting he sometimes forgot about that buzzing in his head.

He was scared of Her. You'd have to be stupid not to be. She was almost as bad as Jenrya!

Jenrya looked at him warily with those beady human eyes of his. Black Growlmon caught Terriermon staring like he was something to be pitied.

"We're in," Jenrya said.

Black Growlmon blew out a snort of sheer disbelief. "So all I had to do was ask and I get to kill you?" He laughed, an ugly chuffing sound in the back of his throat that exposed his fangs. The laugh turned strangled as the throbbing in his head spiked.

Terriermon bristled. "You go ahead and try it! I've got his back!"

"Just like last time, runt?"

Rosemon stepped in then. "Enough. Are you certain this is what you want?"

Black Growlmon tried to glare at Rosemon, but unlike the humans he killed, she refused to look away or flinch. "As sure as sure. It's what Takato would've wanted." He was sure Takato would've wanted these so-called friends taken out, especially since they hadn't rescued him. Or was that what Other-Jenrya wanted?

All Black Growlmon knew was he was itching to finish the job. Maybe if he did, he'd finally get some peace around here. Thankfully his voice didn't wibble-wobble when he mentioned his Tamer. He missed him so much that he was worried he couldn't concentrate on stuff like deleting Terriermon.

"Very well," Rosemon said. "Jenrya Lee and Gargomon against you. They win if they incapacitate you or you otherwise forfeit. You win if you delete Gargomon or kill Jenrya. Jenrya may use what he can to defend himself."

Black Growlmon rumbled deep in his throat at this, trying to figure out Rosemon's game. For a Digimon on the human's side, she seemed ready to throw Jenrya at him in a hurry. If it wasn't for the tempting idea of _finally_ getting Jenrya once and for all, he would've been even more suspicious. There had to be a catch, right? After days of squirming under Rosemon's questions, trying to remember how to think straight and not even being able to see Takato in his dreams, this seemed almost too good to be true.

Getting what he wanted all along put Black Growlmon in something that could be mistaken for a good mood. Almost.

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Of course Ryo told his dad.

Jenrya somehow wasn't surprised. All he knew was he was horrified when Dad showed up with Reika, Ruki and just about everyone else in tow: the only people missing were his sister and the Matsudas, and he could guess why. Dad tried just about everything under the sun to talk him out of it, Jenrya standing there as he poured his heart out. It was hard to say no.

Somehow he did.

Rosemon stood off the side. Jenrya tried not to let his eyes wander back to her. Ryo told him about who Rosemon was – that she used to have a human partner and that she'd probably gone through whatever drove Garurumon crazy. Whatever it was, it hadn't worked. Jenrya wondered if her Mimi was anything like the girl in the Digimon show. It was creepy thinking about it. Ryo's "bet you it's cover-up" theory made sense, Jenrya guessed.

Put a story like that on TV and who would believe anyone who said anything about it was true?

Either way, Rosemon wasn't the Rookie she had been before. She stood with one armored hand on her hip, her face expressionless, painfully beautiful, and for a second he almost thought he understood how she became a Royal Knight.

Jenrya still wasn't sure what she meant by closure. All he knew was that she wouldn't step in if things got bad, not after she promised to Black Growlmon she wouldn't. The Knight of Thorns was only there to make sure both parties obeyed the rules, no more, no less. No targeting the other humans. And no assists or interruptions from anyone, either. His dad stood unhappily behind Rosemon with the others.

"We'll be okay," Gargomon said next to him. "Momentai."

Jenrya wanted to believe all they needed was momentai. The thing was he wasn't that worried about himself. Back on Odaiba he'd been running on adrenaline and fear. It was the same feeling. Knowing what was at stake. Worried about Gargomon going up against that Black Growlmon again. Feeling that cold pit in his stomach knotting in on itself. They were in this together but that didn't mean Jenrya thought they'd win, either.

He kept that to himself, biting his lip. The last thing Gargomon needed to see was his doubts.

"Surprised he hasn't taken any potshots at anyone already," Gargomon went on. He tried to keep his voice light.

Black Growlmon stood several meters way, free of Rosemon's silver whip now. He worked out the kinks, his muscles in his arms and legs rippling. Jenrya tried not to stare at those fangs. His partner was right, though. Black Growlmon was doing a pretty good job keeping things under control and Jenrya guessed maybe finally getting a crack at him might have something to do with it. It hit him all over again how totally wrong this was. Takato should be here, helping them fight with Guilmon. Not this.

The fighting area was a school's gym less than a mile away, mostly intact despite the earthquake. Hopefully the place didn't fall down on their heads. But it was a roof and cover, and with the Council's forces out there, it beat fighting out in the open. Jenrya made it a point not to look over at the others. He hadn't ever fought with an audience before – then it was just fighting because he had to, something spur of the moment, and not being aware of eyes on him.

"Are you ready?" Rosemon asked.

Jenrya nodded, his cards and D-Arc in his hands. Gargomon clicked off his safeties. Black Growlmon gave a snort ringed with fire.

Rosemon didn't say anything. There was only a nod and it felt like something in the air, something unspoken, changed.

Black Growlmon immediately lunged forward as Gargomon let loose a salvo. "_Gargo Laser_!"

Gunfire spattered across the floor and against the Shadow's scales with an explosive boom. Black Growlmon howled in the smoke kicked up: it sounded enraged, nowhere close to throwing in the towel.

Jenrya didn't wait for him to emerge, slashing his first card. "_Digi-Modify_! Slot Blast, _activate_!"

He'd seen what it could do during Odaiba. The last thing he wanted to do was blow a hole in Black Growlmon, but he also wanted to make sure Gargomon had a better chance than the last time they ran into each other. It wasn't like they could rely on an EMP pulse from Dobermon.

"Thanks!" Gargomon leveled his cannon, the plates still rotating out. Energy particles gathered as he started to fire.

Black Growlmon didn't wait around, instead charging as his elbow spike glowed and extended with a pop-hiss. His Plasma Blade slashed up against Gargomon's cannon. For a split second Jenrya thought it would hold. The next second he was proven wrong, the blade glowing and cutting right through the rifle attachment. The attachment melted into slag and exploded into data.

So much for that card. Jenrya slashed another one.

Having to dodge both Plasma Blades humming dangerously inches away didn't leave Gargomon a lot of time to get used to his new upgrades. Black Growlmon was playing it, believe it or not, even more aggressively than before, hugging his opponent hard. It didn't occur to Jenrya that he wanted him to think that.

The fighting started to draw closer to him over the next couple of minutes, Jenrya trying his best to ignore the gasps from Dad or Ruki trying to yell him card advice. He dodged as Gargomon almost fell back on top of him. That was the first time Black Growlmon suddenly switched gears, using Gargomon's distraction to make a pass at Jenrya.

"_Exhaust Flame_!"

Jenrya managed to jump out of the way and nearly ran face first into the Plasma Blade waiting for him. It shaved by as Black Growlmon glared down. Before Gargomon could jump to his partner's side, Black Growlmon whipped his tail at him, kicking his enemy back at step as he charged the human again with his shoulder. Between the fire patches blocking his escape route, there wasn't anywhere he could run. Jenrya felt his head crack against the ground as he was bowled over. The world swirled. He thought he tasted blood in his mouth. When he looked up Black Growlmon was over him, his fangs glistening as he thrust his jaws down.

"Oh no, you don't!" Gargomon yelled.

He tackled Black Growlmon from behind before he could bite his human in half. The two Champions stumbled away. One of Black Growlmon's clawed feet smashed down inches away from Jenrya's chest, his partner using brute force to push against him. Jenrya rolled away as their opponent took a blind swing with his tail. It caught him in the side and sent him crashing back down to his knees, Jenrya struggling to breathe, gasping and wheezing.

Gargomon couldn't help himself – he looked over at the sound of his Tamer in pain.

Black Growlmon took the opening and sank his fangs inches into Gargomon's shoulder. The other Digimon cried out and tried to jerk away, trying to raise his gun-arms and fire point-blank. Black Growmon shook his jaws before he could get a shot in, tearing the gaping wounds bigger.

"I knew you weren't strong enough!" Black Growlmon bellowed. He bit down again and again. He tore his fangs through Gargomon, blowing out a burst of white fire into the wound, and then threw him aside, still smoking. "Even your Tamer can't trust you to do the job!"

Jenrya's mind went blank. In that second, there was this sharpness, like he could look around and see every detail, from the fine scales in Black Growlmon's hide to the way Gargomon fell back like he weighed nothing, data spewing out. It was almost like that time he first really understood who Terriermon was – not a what, but a who, that Terriermon was more than binary on a screen. That same feeling punched him, making everything narrow down to a needle's focus. He saw, really saw.

The problem was trust. It wasn't that Gargomon wasn't strong enough – it never had been.

It was him.

He'd been afraid to let his partner fight then and despite everything, there was a part of him that still was, even now.

Jenrya slashed the card in his hand. It didn't matter what kind of card it was. Didn't matter if it was the last one left. Black Growlmon charged right at him, but Jenrya's eyes were only on Gargomon, his partner still lying on his side. Something opened up something inside, a flood gate like a breath of fresh air.

His D-Arc burned with a new light. Gargomon's eyes shot open.

The light engulfed him, a wave of heat washing out as Gargomon digivolved.

Whatever ammo he had left in his gun arms cooked, the shots flying wildly as Black Growlmon was forced to lurch away and duck for cover. Jenrya threw himself to the ground. He glanced up. There was an impression of armor replacing fur, green armor growing everywhere, all curves and no hard edges. His ears segmented and hardened into sheets of metal, the horn on his head tapering to a sharper point. Jenrya shielded his watering eyes as the light brightened in intensity. The heat began to fade as the digivolution completed, allowing him to look up, gaping. It took him a second to realize his D-Arc was chiming away with the new information it detected:

_Rapidmon  
Ultimate level  
Android Digimon_

It registered on Black Growlmon's face that he was now outclassed…and he might not get another crack at Jenrya ever again. He surged up from where he'd flattened against the floor, ignoring Rapidmon and making a last ditch effort to get to his human.

Only this time Jenrya stood his ground. No more running away.

No more thinking in the back of his mind Terriermon couldn't handle this. He trusted his partner all the way.

Black Growlmon was only feet away, hot enough to feel that freaky heat coming off, when Rapidmon popped up in front of him. Jenrya couldn't explain it. Suddenly he was _there_, materializing so fast Jenrya didn't even see him move. Without even seeming to swing back, Rapidmon decked Black Growlmon right in the face with his new cannon. The impact was deafening. A sickeningly loud whud of metal meeting flesh vibrated through the air. Black Growlmon staggered back, part of his snout's skin peeled back to reveal the digital lines throbbing underneath. Data drifted out as the Shadow tried to right himself.

The fight hadn't been knocked out of him yet. Trying the same trick with biting into Rapidmon didn't work – his teeth skidded across the green armor, the flames only licking at the edges.

Recovering, Black Growlmon darted to the side and disappeared into the thick smoke hanging over the battleground. It was so dense Jenrya couldn't see where the beast was. Rapidmon swiveled in place next to him, those huge ears of his tilting with a whirl of gears. Without even seeming to aim, he lifted his cannons and leveled them at a spot in the darkness.

"_Rapid Fire_!"

Black Growlmon snarled. Obviously sneaking around wouldn't work with ears like Rapidmon's. The beast burst out of the smoke, sporting more tears in his black hide than before. He roared his defiance, sucking in a breath. White fire sprayed out in the strongest burst yet.

"_Tri-Beam_!" Rapidmon's attack screamed through the wall of fire like it was nothing.

Black Growlmon's eyes went wide. Jenrya had a glimpse of Rapidmon falling back to shield him, his hand brushing up against metal that felt surprisingly warm, before the Tri-Beam hit its target square in the chest. Black Growlmon was thrown through the wall, the sonic boom blowing out whatever was left of the windows. Glass tinkled everywhere. Green sparks rippled over the hole and Black Growlmon's twitching body. The Tri-Beam had blown away the smoke and most of the fires, cinders still winking here and there. You couldn't ask for a clearer shot.

Rapidmon was preparing to attack again when Rosemon's voice rang out. "Enough."

Jenrya got to his feet next to his partner, reaching up to wipe the blood trickling from his mouth. Black Growlmon was still in one piece, but the fight had been kicked out of him. His tail gave a useless thump. Every now and then he would try to lift his head and find he could barely do even that.

"Remember what it was like and hold onto that, both of you," Rosemon said. She swept past them and headed for Black Growlmon. "Congratulations."

She crossed the rubble and knelt down next to Black Growlmon, her hand reaching out to caress his spikes. Sensing she wanted to be alone with him, Jenrya hung back. He was still pumped full of adrenaline, lumped in with shock they'd done it and that Gargomon hit Ultimate. Jenrya couldn't think of what to say as he turned toward Rapidmon. Smoke from the battle still wafted over the bleachers and the gym, decorated with way more ventilation holes then it started out with. He was bruised all over and it was still hard to breathe, but he found his face breaking out in a smile, half in relief, the other half deliriously happy.

"Told you," Rapidmon said, his voice coming out tinny from his armor. "That's a lifetime of I told you so's! You bet I'm gonna milk it."

Jenrya laughed.

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Reika's cell phone still worked. With very few places to charge it, that in itself was a small miracle.

It helped she kept it off and rationed the time she turned it on to check. No calls from her sister or any of her friends. Any contact with Hypnos was a no-go. Even Kei hadn't resurfaced. There weren't any messages, either, from Yamaki.

She kept half-expecting one anyway. If her boss was still alive, he would've tried to call, wouldn't he? Why cell phone reception still worked with that barrier in place was beyond her, but at least it was something. What she saw today was something she would've wanted to report. Reika stood back as the others ran to crowd around Jenrya Lee and his newly evolved Digimon, her lips pursed. The first of the children to have his creature hit Ultimate. She would – _should_ – have found it disturbing if she wasn't convinced these kids were the last chance they had. It wasn't a comforting thought. Reika wasn't sure how she'd come to this point.

Out of habit she turned on her cell phone, listening to Janyuu sweeping up his son in a crushing hug, and glanced down, expecting to see the usual on her phone. She froze. _1 MSG WAITING_, it read. _10:32 AM_. Today.

Her heart thundering in her chest, Reika turned away from the group. She opened the message.

- R.O. -

ALIVE, MADE IT BACK TO TOKYO. HAVE COMPANY.

REPORT: YOUR LOCATION / STATUS

REPORT: YOUR UPDATE ON HYPNOS / WILD ONES

MEMO: I WILL EXPLAIN MORE WHEN WE MEET. NEARING SHINJUKU.

- M.Y. -

**To be continued**  
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I'm plugging ahead with Digital Shuffle and have started laying out the epilogue (although I'm not yet close to that – I'd say I'm about 70% done with the story).


	31. Compromised

**Digital Shuffle**  
by Famira Damaris

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Digimon Tamers  
**Author's Note**: Long chapter for reals. WHEW. For anyone interested, I threw together a playlist of instrumental songs for Digital Shuffle. They're songs I felt fit the characters/plot. PM me if you'd like it! A warning though: spoilers to the story will be in the playlist.

I'm also debating doing a Side Story for Rosemon – perhaps something detailing something during the Purges of the Digimon Adventure kids? I'd like to go more into Jyou/Zudomon and Mimi/Lilymon things.

Reviews are appreciated as always. And thank you for reading!

**Archive**: Go right on ahead.  
**Bold** for implied feelings, mostly for the Juggernaut

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Digital Shuffle  
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(Compromised)

Gargomon digivolved to Ultimate.

Ruki Makino couldn't believe it.

She kept replaying that afternoon in her head, trying to figure out just what Jenrya and Gargomon did right. It wasn't like nearly getting killed was enough to do it – they'd run into plenty of situations like that in the past and none of their Digimon busted out their Ultimate levels back then. Look at Odaiba! They barely scrapped out of there! And she hated to say it – someone had to - but Jenrya's strategy in that fight with Black Growlmon was terrible. His mind hadn't been where it should've, that much was obvious. Some of his card choices were all over the place.

Ruki chewed on that over dinner. Dinner was more powdered everything or packaged whatever. At this point she would've loved even her grandmother's oatmeal. After living in hiding for this long she started to get a new respect for cooked food.

"We'll do it too," Renamon said all of a sudden, sitting across from her. Renamon had that way of _knowing_ what she was thinking and right now wasn't any different.

Ruki looked up. "I know."

Renamon regarded her thoughtfully and then dipped her snout. "If there's anyone who can help me get to Ultimate level, it's you. I…thought you should know."

Ruki flushed at that, not sure what to say. They weren't the lovey-dovey, touchy-feely partnership like Jenrya and Terriermon (or how Takato and Guilmon used to be), and she had no idea what to say to something like that. It was stupid to wonder why Jenrya got there first. Stupid to wonder if it was her who was the problem or if it was Renamon. Maybe wondering at all was holding them back. She knew second-guessing yourself all the time was one of the worst things you could do, even from her time when all she did was play in the card tournaments and it hadn't ever crossed her mind any of this could be real. Now the consequences were a whole lot bigger.

Renamon knew that too.

"Thanks, Renamon," Ruki said. It somehow didn't feel like enough, but she had no idea what more there was to say. "We better get back on patrol."

Patrol was something she felt was way more familiar. So far they'd been lucky and none of the enemy Digimon figured out where they were. That didn't mean they couldn't keep on the lookout for any scouts who might get lucky. After all the dust and debris from Black Growlmon's fight with Rapidmon, it couldn't hurt to do another pass in case anyone happened to see it and get curious. They'd done this enough that it was like second nature, Ruki heading out to the tunnel's entrance to meet Kyuubimon. She ran into her mom first.

Rumiko looked different. It took Ruki a second to realize why – it was the first time she'd seen her mom without makeup, not even eyeliner. The model gave an unconscious toss of her blond hair as she stepped forward, a scarf and hoodie in her hands. Both were a dark navy. Ruki had no idea where she got them, only that they looked like they were her size.

"Going out on patrol again?" Her mom asked.

Ruki nodded. She looked down as her mom plopped the scarf and jacket in her hands.

"I thought these would keep you warm," Rumiko said. Was it a trick of the light or was she blushing? "And they're dark, so they'll act like camouflage."

Ruki was taken aback. Ignoring the fact that Kyuubimon was a big yellow fox who _kinda_ stood out, Ruki hadn't expected her mom to put that much thought into clothes for her. The Tamer felt her own cheeks starting to redden.

"Thanks. I'll wear them tonight," Ruki said. Out of all the clothes her mom bought her over the years, all the dresses and frilly skirts that were probably crushed under rubble by now, a ratty scarf and hoodie suddenly jumped out at her in a way everything else hadn't.

Maybe her mom saw it too. Her mouth quirked up in the beginnings of a tentative smile. Maybe they were starting to understand each other. Ruki hid her confused look by shoving on the hoodie and then wrapping the scarf around her. She even stood still as her mother reached out and adjusted the scarf, bringing it up so it could keep her mouth and nose warm. Rumiko gave her a warm pat on the shoulder. Somehow it felt right. Maybe one day they could get used to hugging.

"I'll see you went you get back."

Ruki nodded and turned, jogging to catch up to Kyuubimon outside. Who knew her mom could be…okay? She was taking this way way way better than Ruki could've ever predicted – better than Janyuu, even, and he'd already known about Digimon too! Kyuubimon looked up as her partner joined her.

"A new look?" Kyuubimon dipped her snout. "It fits you."

"Yeah, yeah," Ruki said, smiling behind her scarf.

They were about to leave when footsteps rang behind them. Ruki turned in time to see Reika Ootori.

"I'd like to come with you," she said. "If you don't mind."

Ruki exchanged looks with Kyuubimon. She did mind. "Why?"

"There's something I'd like to check." Reika rattled off a location – some tiny hole in the wall café Ruki never heard of. "Should be within your patrol range."

"Okay, fine. Don't fall off," warned Ruki. Normally she'd say no. But she could understand wanting to check for signs of life and from the sound of the woman's voice, the café had some kinda special meaning to her…enough that she wanted to put herself at risk to check it out.

Ruki hoisted herself easily onto Kyuubimon, Reika fumbling a bit after her, and held on as they took off. Most of Shinjuku was out of power but as they started the patrol, she could still see patches of the city that had lucked out, lights shining in far away buildings. At this point she had no idea what the government was doing, if they had any run-ins yet with the Council forces. How they'd explain Odaiba after this was all over. The military had to be out by now, the civilians banding together to support each other. Natural disasters were one thing, but somehow she doubted they would be prepared for a Digimon attack. Behind her, Reika was silent. When Ruki did glance over, she caught the Hypnos tech checking her cell phone.

The patrol circuit took them several miles out in an uneven circle, never by the same route they took the last times. Kyuubimon's breaths were steady as she bounded from street to fence to roof. The silence between them felt different. Ruki couldn't entirely explain it. It wasn't the same as it had been when they first started fighting together. Whatever between them wasn't like it was between the other Tamers and their Digimon. It was whatever it was.

They were about to turn around, with Reika's café as the last stop, when Kyuubimon suddenly paused.

"I smell another Digimon," she said quietly. Her snout wrinkled. "Relatively close too."

"We better check it out."

Ruki reached up to adjust her scarf as Kyuubimon zeroed in on the scent, her tails bobbing. Was this it? Were they going to have to find another hiding place? She tried not to think of moving all the families – _especially_ if the Council might be looking for them after Odaiba. She was fully prepared to delete any intruders if it came to it and she knew Kyuubimon was on her side. The fact they had a passenger along for the ride didn't mean they could ignore trouble.

Kyuubimon reached the scent and immediately went on the attack. "_Foxtail Inf -_ "

Her tails lit up one by one in quick succession, enough to see there were two intruders: a small, familiar looking Digimon and what looked an awful lot like a human's shadow.

"Wait!" A man's voice called out.

Kyuubimon's tails snuffed out as she landed in front of the intruders, her snout pulled back in snarl exposing delicate but sharp fangs. Ruki didn't jump off just yet. So far they hadn't had any incidents with the Council using humans as shields, but you never knew. Reika's hands were tight around her as she sat up like she'd been shot.

"Watch where yer aiming that thing, Fox Face!" A familiar voice snapped.

"Impmon?" Kyuubimon couldn't hide her surprise.

"Nah, it's the Tooth Fairy. 'Course it's me!" Impmon shielded his paw as he lit up a fireball, just enough to give them some light to see by and hopefully not enough to go broadcasting their presence.

Ruki glanced at Impmon, then at the man with him. The human was another adult, a tall blond guy who had a pair of sunglasses perched on his head. He was still dressed in a rumpled business suit that had seen better days, grime and dust coating it so thick he could easily go camo. If he was shell-shocked at a Digimon running around with him, he sure wasn't showing it. Right now he just looked dirty, hungry, and tired. The stress lines in his face were pronounced in the weak firelight.

"What're you doing here? Who's this?" Ruki demanded.

"I'm Yamaki," the human said.

"That's my boss," Reika said at the exact same time.

"Lousy boss y'got there," Impmon added.

Yamaki shot Impmon a stare – a look Ruki thought bordered more toward a resigned glare than anything else. "I used to head Hypnos. We're here to help end this."

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Ruki said. "We better get under cover."

She didn't offer Yamaki or Impmon a ride on Kyuubimon. Her partner already had enough passengers and as far as Ruki was concerned, if they'd walked this far, it wouldn't kill them to walk the rest of the way. To their credit neither of them complained. In fact, both of them kept quiet, scanning the area for any ambush signs. She could practically sense the questions radiating out from Kyuubimon, but the Digimon kept silent, her ears perked forward, her blue eyes sliding over to Impmon silently every now and then. Impmon might not have been their biggest fan, but he'd also come to them about the whole Kaminmon/Takato thing, so…

It occurred to her that maybe Reika knew all along Yamaki and Impmon were on the way. Or maybe it was just her boss only, because Ruki remembered Reika sounded actually surprised; maybe Impmon was the last person she expected to see buddying it up with the leader of an anti-Digimon organization. It suddenly made sense why Reika had been insistent about passing by that café.

"Next time you want something, you tell us," Ruki said without turning around.

"Of course," Reika didn't sound guilty at all.

Kyuubimon led the way back to the hideout, the tunnel entrance gaping open, the red emergency lights on as usual. Her ears flicked back.

"You humans go on without us," Kyuubimon's head swung toward Impmon. "I believe we have some catching up to do."

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Reika wasn't sure what she felt when she saw Yamaki alive. Relief, she supposed. Something else, warm like she'd rolled herself in a blanket. Her cheeks flushed as her face stilled. Her very nerves seemed to come alive and sing.

It took her a second to realize she missed him. She missed him more than she thought possible. When she met Yamaki's eyes for that second before Ruki herded them back, she saw her expression mirrored back at her.

Whatever happened to her boss out there, Yamaki wasn't the same man he was before.

"I didn't expect 'company' to mean a Digimon," Reika remarked when they were alone at last.

Yamaki ran his hand through his blonde hair and shrugged. "It's a long story. I'll tell the others and catch up while I'm at it." He paused, for the first time in awhile looking out of his depth. He peered at Reika. "You look good."

"Thank you, sir," Reika said dryly, her mouth quirking up. "Can't say the same about you."

Yamaki snorted. "I'm dying for a bath and dinner. Impmon's borderline incompetent at finding food. It's a miracle he didn't starve before all of this."

"I'll see what I can do," said Reika. She turned to leave, taking that as a "professional suggestion", when Yamaki reached out and caught her by the crook of her elbow. "Sir?"

"That can wait." Yamaki's voice turned gentle. "It's good you're safe. I wasn't sure if you'd be in a position to get my message."

Reika blinked, startled. If she didn't know better, she'd say he was worried about her, and not just because she needed to vouch for him to the Tamers. The way he touched her arm felt different to all those other times. Once he let slip he'd been married, long ago. Reika found herself wondering if he used to touch his ex-wife that way. It felt intimate in a way the sex hadn't. The surprising thing was, thinking about it, she didn't mind. Reika didn't pull away.

"I waited for you as long as I could," Reika said, turning back toward her boss. "They told us you were transferred to London. Mr. Lee and I refused to believe that."

Yamaki's eye's flickered at the mention of Janyuu Lee's name, but he didn't jump to business immediately. What came next was unexpected.

"Thank you."

Reika stared, her lips pursed in surprise. She tried to remember a time he'd ever said those two words and couldn't.

"Anyway," Yamaki coughed. He seemed to realize he was dangerously close to wearing his heart on his sleeve. "Let's get caught up to speed and we'll work from there. Looks like Hypnos got downgraded to us two."

Reika nodded. They didn't even have access to the Yuggoth program. That said, she almost didn't mind it was just the two of them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mitsuo Yamaki was cool in Ryo's book. Smart, on his toes, tried to shoot Vajramon _and_ redefined the word "paranoid"?

He liked the guy already.

That didn't change the fact Ryo was starting to wilt in the back where he sat behind everyone else who showed up for show-and-tell here. Ryo knew he should sit through the entire briefing with Yamaki, but for some reason he couldn't help yawning behind his hand. His eyes kept drooping. Usually he worked the insomnia thing like a pro but sometimes it'd hit him how incredibly _tired_ he was, out of nowhere. He couldn't remember having the problem in the Digital World; they'd only started when he woke up back in that hospital after Cyberdramon attacked him. Ryo told himself he was still getting used to sleeping under a normal sky and his internal clock was screwed.

Ryo hid another yawn, Jenrya shooting him a look. Terriermon rolled his eyes from his perch on his human's head.

"I'm paying attention," Ryo whispered back.

"You look like you're ready to pass out."

Ryo shook his head. "I'm okay."

He managed to hold it off a little while longer. The episode was getting pretty bad, Ryo barely able to concentrate, his eyes fluttering. Every now and then he'd come up and catch bits and pieces – he got Yamaki's story about being dumped outside Tokyo's barrier and then next thing he knew, Impmon and him figured a way past it and were ninjaing through Tokyo like a bunch of badasses. Jenrya was staring now. So maybe Ryo wasn't fooling him.

"What's wrong with you?"

Ryo reached up to rub at his eyes, keeping his voice low. "Sue me, I get tired sometimes."

"I'll fill you in on the rest," Jenrya said, frowning. "Go to bed."

At this point he was exhausted enough to shut up and take it. Ryo ducked out of the supply room, unaware of Rosemon watching him. Somehow he managed to stumble back to his bed – well, his crappy excuse for bed, more like a nest – and flopped into the blankets and comforters.

Another nightmare came.

_Something was happening._

_Digimon loaded down with equipment and weapons ran past him without a second glance, rounding the corner of the palace gardens and disappearing. Some of the bigger ones got in a head start trampling the hedges, the blue leaves ground into mud that clung to HD4-R's feet as he wandered in to watch them. HD4-R had to reach out and grab the next soldier who charged past, catching the Devidramon by the wrist and almost bowling the two of them over as the other Digimon trooped past without stopping. She was a runt by her species' standards but that didn't stop her from towering over him by several feet. Devidramon's misshapen head swiveled as the soldier rounded on him with a snarl, her wings stiff with rage._

_"How dare you – " Devidramon cut herself off when she saw who it was, deflating. She had to crane her head to look down at him. The Champion's snout quivered as she sniffed instinctively. She snorted a hot breath into his face. "It's you. You weren't sent out like the others?"_

_"I'm the only one left," HD4-R said. "The other HDs were deleted. Killed," he amended, remembering that his Master wanted him to sound and act more human. Practice made perfect._

_"You must be defective," Devidramon remarked. "Otherwise our Lord would've had a use for you by now."_

_HD4-R felt something then. He glared at the soldier, for the first time an ugly look crossing a face that had been as expressionless until now. Defective? Impossible. He thought his brothers must have been, if they were deleted by the Threat, and hearing that word from a lowly soldier was like…like…HD4-R didn't even have a word for it. The Human Behavior lessons with his Master had dwindled off to almost nothing now, leaving him unfinished. Not only that, he hadn't had any new brothers since the last ones went out on their mission. As far as the boy knew, there weren't any plans to continue HD production._

_He really was the last one left. Maybe Master abandoned his HD project: it was the most logical conclusion after reviewing the past weeks. _

_"What's going on?" HD4-R's face smoothed out. "I know you. You're only a cook, you're not one of the soldiers."_

_His words were flat, missing any sarcasm. He only stated fact._

_"ENIAC had a systems failure. The final battle with the Threat approaches. We're _all_ going to war now!" Devidramon hefted her weapon, shouldering it. The cook bared her crooked fangs. Her four red eyes glowed fervently. "Maybe even you might get a go at Him like everyone else."_

_His internals went cold at that. There was a sort of finality to the way she talked. The more he thought about it, the more he burned to get a chance like all the others, that coldness solidifying into something even he recognized now as resolve. It was because of this Threat out there that his Master was still preoccupied, distant. Because of this great enemy that things weren't like they'd been before. It added up._

_He wanted to do something. Get involved somehow. For a boy who wasn't used to wanting things without being ordered to, it was a strange experience. It was worth it if it would get his old Master back._

_HD4-R did something unheard of: he acted on his own. _

_"Show me the files on the Threat. I want to see his face." _

_Devidramon protested. "But I'm supposed to report to my platoon!"_

_"Show me." _

_The standoff didn't last very long. HD4-R might not impress Devidramon but he had rank over her just because he'd been the Master's favorite up until now. That put you on a different level than most. Hissing, disgruntled, Devidramon led him out of the palace gardens to the closest server room. She didn't slow down to accommodate him, nor did he think to ask. This particular server room had a high ceiling that vaulted hundreds of feet up, digital lines running along the foundations and pulsing with data. The usual herd of tech Digimon was missing today. There was a high probability they were sent to the front already. Devidramon began to key up all the records for their enemy, stabbing at it with her claws and not bothering to hide the fact she wanted to get back to her platoon as soon as possible. Babysitting an obsolete relic didn't count as helping the war effort. The boy hadn't worked out yet he was offended._

_He glanced at the blank screen as he waited. His reflection stared back impassively. Unlike Devidramon, HD4-R was wingless and skinny, a pink fleshy thing that was supposed to be the picture perfect copy of a human being. He wouldn't know – he hadn't seen a real live human before. According to Master, he could pass. His hair was brown, cropped shorter than HD3-DaiM's used to be. Like the past HD models, he had a flat face without fangs or fur or armor. The boy stared into his reflection's black eyes, then looked away. _

_HD4-R didn't feel one way or another looking at himself. _

_Devidramon hit the final command. "There. Our Master has lots of intel on the Threat. Everything from his past battle strategies to observed personal habits. Even got some brainwave scans if you're bored. Knock yourself out."_

_She hurried out before he could hit her with more requests, tucking in her wings so she could clear the door. HD4-R turned to watch Devidramon go before tilting his head to look at the records. The other HDs were most likely briefed on the exact same thing before they were killed. Until now he had no interest in learning anything about their enemy, not if Master didn't send him out. Now it seemed important that HD4-R catch up and catch up fast._

_The screen lit up with the enemy's name._

** RYO AKIYAMA  
**

_Underneath was a picture of the Threat. His own face stared back at him, blue eyes instead of black._

Ryo jerked awake with a gasp.

He rolled over on his side. Shock, pure and ugly. The very first time he'd really felt it, even if he didn't know what it was way back then. Trying to catch his breath, Ryo could still remember Devidramon's hide against his fingers (the scales had been surprisingly smooth and soft), the eerie glow of the holos in the server room. That strange pit clenching in his chest, growing larger and larger as it dawned on him that he wasn't the beloved anymore. Maybe he never was. There was someone else with his face out there…and Master cared enough about this "Ryo Akiyama" to throw everything he had at him, through time and space, wherever he would go.

Without realizing it, his hand had groped to his D-Arc and was now clutching it with a death grip. Ryo had to stop white-knuckling the thing. "His" D-Arc. It wasn't even his, was it?

This wasn't like the dreams before, where he was only left with a bad taste in his mouth. These he remembered.

Ryo wished he didn't.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruki didn't notice Ryo leave – she only noticed when he wandered back in about an hour later. She turned her head slightly to track him, watching as the taller boy joined Jenrya. Totally predictable. Ryo sat down without saying anything, his mouth pursed, waving off whatever Jenrya asked him. Ruki rolled her eyes. She had no idea why Jenrya had a soft spot for gathering other Tamers to him: first Takato and now Ryo were glued to him like he was the best thing since sliced bread.

Then again, it was because of him they'd made it this far. Jenrya refused to back down from Takato and she'd found herself dragged along. Maybe Takato was her friend too. Of course she'd never tell the goofy kid that, it'd all go to his goggle-brained head!

Ruki shook her head, deciding she better pay attention to the briefing.

"We've been infiltrated by Digimon for years," Yamaki was saying. "As much as I don't want to admit it, they've got the jump on us with that kind of head start."

Janyuu Lee stood next to Yamaki, Reika on his other side. "At least we know where this Nagamora and Kincaid are based. You said Nagamora is Vajramon?"

"Yes. Since he's a Digimon, I assume Kincaid's the same deal. I didn't get chance to see her real form before I got booted out of my own organization," Yamaki's voice was steady, with a faint undertone of bitterness. "Recently they started fooling around with Hypnos's basement before those lights in the sky appeared. We think they've shanghaied the Juggernaut."

"It's probably how they're trying to open the barrier between our worlds," Janyuu said. "Given what we know, it makes sense."

"Then let's attack Hypnos," Ruki spoke up without raising her hand. She felt Renamon shift next to her. "It beats sitting on our butts waiting to get hit!"

She caught Yamaki glancing at her with a smile tugging at his mouth, so small you could miss it. Maybe he approved of her attitude. Ruki crossed her arms over her chest. Everyone's eyes were on her: Jenrya's, Ryo's, Rosemon's…her mom. Her mom. Ruki wasn't sure why she showed up at the meeting, only that she had and she was taking it way too well for a woman who flounced around in dresses for a living. Ruki tried to ignore the fact that her mom was looking right at her too.

"If they're putting that much effort into this Juggernaut, then it's got to be something they want. We take it away and we could set them back years. It beats trying to take down the barrier and hoping we get help out from the outside world."

Ruki paused for breath.

"Not that I'm saying we charge in head first," she shot a look at Jenrya, who shut his mouth. Yeah, she knew he'd protest and she beat down his objection before he could get it out. "Alice, what about the D-Reaper?"

"Last I heard from my grandfather, it's still on schedule. If we can delay Vajramon and Kincaid, then we should be able to make it. Between taking out this Juggernaut and the D-Reaper being put into place, I believe we could stop the Council's plans here."

"What about Digimon bio-emerging to try again?" Ruki asked.

"Impossible if the D-Reaper fully operational. Nothing could get past it: the Digimon here couldn't go home and invaders wouldn't be able to bio-emerge."

"What about any other defectors?"

Rosemon stepped in, standing over Leomon and Juri seated next to her. "There may be more on the way, especially if they raided my Archives. Such destruction will drive Digimon to join our cause who were wavering before." The Royal Knight hesitated, not given to speaking about her past in front of this many. "The previous Chosen Children left a lasting impression on Digimon before they were…Purged. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those in the Digital World still harbor loyalties and were waiting for the right time."

"I don't think we should bank on an army of reinforcements," Yamaki remarked. He didn't seem to notice that invisible pressure radiating off the Mega in the room – or if he did, he was doing a good job pretending he didn't. "But Ruki Makino is right. I'm all for hitting Hypnos myself. If they're smart, they'll have the place well guarded. We need to find a way in without getting killed in the process."

"Rapidmon and I could scout around," Jenrya stepped in. "If we're lucky, we could try looking around for any defectors while we're at it."

"We can go too," Dobermon chimed up with that throaty growl of his. Alice nodded.

Rosemon was quiet for a moment. "I will do what I can. I also wish to find Zudomon. His assistance at Odaiba gives me hope he might be on the edge of defection as well."

Ruki could only wish. Having a Mega and two Ultimates on their side might really change things. While all this scouting around didn't sit well with her, she could see why they had to do it. Count her in.

"There's got to be real blueprints of the building. Data that Vajramon would normally keep close," Ruki said. "We should find out what else they stuck in there. If we're going to strike, we need to hit hard and hit right where it counts. They probably won't give us another chance to try again."

"Exactly," Yamaki said. He cleared his throat. "I'd like to talk to Mr. Lee and Ms. Ootori in the meantime."

That was the cue that the briefing so far was over. Ruki got up and shook out her arms and legs, which had fallen asleep in the meantime. Okay, so they weren't winning just yet and they had two more mouths to worry about but at the same time, it felt like today was one step closer than yesterday.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaminmon hated this. He hated coming to this damned world; hated the alien sky; hated the pollution; hated the humans; hated that _these_ particular humans were far too good at hiding and fighting back.

He wondered if the previous humans, the so-called Chosen Children, had been anything like these Tamers he now tracked.

If they were, suddenly he had a renewed respect for the Purges. No wonder the casualty rate against the Chosen Children had been so high! A part of him had assumed they were exaggerations.

"When are we gonna take a break? We're tired!" One of the Ogremon complained behind him as they halted. Ruins from the human buildings towered over them. Kaminmon's ear-wings twitched back toward the voice.

"What happened to your fighting spirit?" Kaminmon snapped. He turned, his eyes glowing blue in the shadows. "Or are you suggesting we turn around and tell our Mistress our feet were too sore?"

The lead Ogremon scowled. "I'm sayin' it's been way too long since we killed some humans! How close are we?"

"Closer."

"You said that yesterday."

Kaminmon tossed his mane irritably. "Our intel says they base most of their attacks out of this place called 'Shinjuku'. If you didn't notice, humans like to live in cramped, confined spaces. They could be anywhere in Shinjuku. We must narrow it down."

The Ogremon on the left grunted, the big one with a trio of scars slashing his left eye shut that distinguished him from the others. Three-Scar let his club down, the head of it hitting the ground with a clump. "Too bad we didn't nail 'em on that island. Thought for sure that'd do it."

Kaminmon didn't say anything to Three-Scar's remark. Not at first. It was dangerous, saying any doubts like that aloud. The Council's plans got them this far over the years. Ever since the Purges, they had only victories. To have a front row seat to such a colossal failure as Odaiba was shocking to the core. Even he had similar thoughts. Kaminmon shook his head doggedly.

"Humans have an aversion to dying like they're supposed to," Kaminmon said. He refused to entertain the idea that both Founder and Deceiver may have miscalculated.

"Or _maybe_ if we used Chaosdramon X to waste this Shinjuku in the first place, we would've nailed the rats."

"What about that Mega? That Knight?" The leader Ogremon butted in. He jerked his ugly head up as if checking the skies, convinced Rosemon would drop in on their heads.

"Traitor!" Three-Scar spat at the ground.

Kaminmon was inclined to agree. "We don't have the forces to delete her yet." He went on before the Ogremon pack could say anything. "As much as I'd love to kill those brats and their traitorous pets, we're here for Black Growlmon."

As impossible as this mission seemed, getting away with Black Growlmon struck him as easier than trying to take on a Mega. With enough data he knew he could digivolve to Ultimate – he'd made sure he brought enough scouts with him to do just that if he had to, something he'd conveniently neglected to mention to these Ogremon – but digivolving didn't mean he could take on Rosemon. If it looked like he had to, then he would try anyway. Makuramon might even approve of his methods if he lived to tell her about them. Besides, after Odaiba's failure, it was the least he could do to make up for what he told those Rookies. No matter his own falling from his Mistress, Kaminmon refused to let those engineers' deletions be in vain.

Oddly enough his Mistress hadn't mentioned them at all.

Surely she remembered their sacrifice. He told herself she had to. Despite her temper, Makuramon was gentle, the kind to take in the lost and dying. After all, she'd saved him…it was just these days it was much harder to have the same faith. He blamed the Real World being a terrible influence.

Kaminmon let the Ogremon rest for a few minutes before he started urging them forward again.

"The human stench is fresher already," he rallied the troops. "Even if we don't find the Tamers and their camp today, I promise you can have some fun with any other humans we find."

That perked up the Ogremon. Three-Scar leered and lumbered back to his feet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The wind howled outside. Renamon ignored it as she watched Impmon scarf down his breakfast like he hadn't eaten in years, her snout twitching in quiet amusement.

"What made you change your mind?" She asked. "You with a Tamer?"

Impmon choked on his food. He pounded at his chest for a few startled seconds before he whirled on her, spraying crumbs. "He ain't my Tamer!"

"Is that so? Traveling with a human and protecting him?"

"We're only heading in the same direction, that's all!"

Renamon only smiled. Getting to here from outside Tokyo's barrier was a long trip. You didn't do that with "just" any human. Renamon turned her head to glance outside – leaves whipped up by the wind blew past, the stench of smoke thick in the air. Something was burning off in the distance. Something these days was always burning. It did make it more difficult to sense Digimon coming, unfortunately. Impmon finally finished scarfing down his breakfast with a sigh.

"So how come you can't digivolve to Ultimate, toots?" Impmon decided now was a good time to hit her with an uncomfortable question.

Renamon's eyes slid back to him, narrowed slightly. News traveled fast in these close quarters. "It's not something you can force. Why haven't you digivolved to Champion?" She retorted.

Impmon's cheeks burned a darker color. "Good point."

Renamon didn't let herself savor that small victory.

"It will happen when it happens. Ruki can do it," said Renamon.

"Humans are real funny." Impmon spent a lot of time complaining about his human "partner", but Renamon also noticed the odd little looks he also shot Yamaki. "I keep daydreamin' 'bout deckin' mine in the face."

Renamon caught that slip – that "my human" – but decided not to point it out for now. She nodded.

"They're individuals like us."

"Pains in the butt is more like it."

Renamon shrugged. "And yet you're helping us instead of Vajramon and Kincaid. It's something to think about."

She stood up before Jenrya and Rapidmon came down the emergency tunnel. A part of her shared Ruki's concerns about digivolving to the next level and seeing Rapidmon only reminded her of those worries. The other Digimon's eyes slid over to her, shaded by all that green armor as he clanked next to his Tamer. She couldn't see his face, but somehow she sensed he was smiling at her.

"Thanks for holding down the fort," Jenrya said. "We'll be back in a few hours."

Rapidmon's laugh was muffled by his armor. "Sheesh! Only 'cause I gotta take it slow."

Jenrya paused to climb up onto Rapidmon's back, taking the time to belt himself to his partner. He gave Impmon and Renamon a wave before the two suddenly took off. Renamon blinked at the back draft blowing into her face. By the time the dust settled, Jenrya and Rapidmon were already specks in the distance. Impmon grunted, doing a bad job hiding his jealousy.

Renamon sighed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had to be only a day or so away from zeroing in on the Tamers. Kaminmon was sure of it.

The fact they spotted one of the Tamers darting over head was proof.

Kaminmon flattened against the shadows with the Ogremon pack, watching as a green-armored beast zipped from rooftop to rooftop, moving almost too fast to follow. You could miss the human on his back if you didn't pay attention. Kaminmon hissed between his fangs. So one of them had digivolved to Ultimate, did they? This was news his Mistress needed to hear. He told himself he would report it personally once he had Black Growlmon in tow.

"Disgusting," Three-Scar snarled behind him. "Can't believe it's happening all over."

"Well, it is," Kaminmon was sarcastic. "Our focus is Black Growlmon. Now quiet down."

Kaminmon kept the group where it was, ignoring the grumbles and complaining. Hours later the Tamer came back and while they couldn't possibly keep up at the speed his Digimon moved, Kaminmon counted it as a step in the right direction. Over the next couple of days he spotted different Tamers spreading out and widening their scouting pattern. Rosemon, too, would take off sometimes, taking to the air and flying to where Odaiba used to be. It dawned on him that he could use this to his advantage – if he timed it right, he could strike at the Tamer's hideout while Rosemon and some of the others were away. It was better than trying to fight them all off, and as far as he could tell, none of the other Digimon reached Ultimate, just the green one.

Maybe this wasn't a suicide mission.

The weather in the meantime continued to flip-flop. Yesterday a heat wave beat down on them, the Ogremon's tongues lolling out as they panted. Now it snowed. Rosemon had been gone for two whole days, long enough to give Kaminmon the courage to test his luck and make his move against the Tamers. The green Digimon taking off that morning made his decision final.

"There might be other humans in there. They say humans can be almost as protective of their family units as Digimon," Kaminmon hissed. "We'll use them as hostages before we kill them."

Kaminmon shook off the layer of white powder on his snout. His snort came out in a cloud.

"Let's go."

The Ogremon pack followed him as he trotted toward where he last saw the Tamers. Passing through an unfinished construction zone, Kaminmon studied the huge tunnel before them. If he was a human, squishy and defenseless, he'd want big concrete walls on every side. This had to be it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The weather had been going haywire ever since more Digimon started to appear. Back when she'd been going to school, the other kids loved some snow days. These days? Yeah, right. Class was canceled for who knew how long. Ruki stamped her feet and threw on another layer of clothes, wishing she had gloves. The hoodie and scarf from her mom helped. It didn't stop her from getting antsy: Jenrya was suddenly scouting out a lot more now that he could go with Rapidmon. For someone being used to doing the majority of the scouting as the most experienced Tamer here, it was hard for Ruki to swallow. She tried to force it down. Once Jenrya and Rapidmon rolled in, it was their turn to go scouting.

They couldn't get back fast enough.

"Rosemon hasn't come back," Renamon said next to her partner, keeping her voice down. "She was due."

Ruki grunted. "Who knows with her? First she's helping us, then she's being all _mysterious_."

Maybe it sucked in the others and okay, so the Knight _had_ helped them a lot at Odaiba. Without her, they probably would've got blown to kingdom come right there on Rainbow Bridge. That didn't mean Ruki felt like she should bend over backward for Rosemon like everyone else seemed to. _If Rosemon really wants to help, she could start laying things out straight._

"Your mother is coming." Renamon said abruptly. She shifted to face back toward the tunnel. Rumiko approached them with an expression that almost made Ruki want to dig in her heels and headbutt right back: it was the exact same look Rumiko had when she tried to bully her into stuff like that stupid photoshoot.

Modeling was the last thing on her mom's mind.

"We want to help out more. You kids are working so hard and we'd like to pull our weight. I've already talked to Mrs. Matsuda about it," Rumiko added, tilting her chin stubbornly as if Ruki would say no.

Ruki didn't know what to say. "Aren't you scared you'll break a nail?" was on the tip of her tongue. "Like how?" She asked instead.

"Most of us aren't used to roughing it. We could use more clean clothes since we're running low, for starters. We'd like to go out on our own and help out with supply runs. Anyway, I think it would help Mrs. Matsuda to focus on something else, you know."

Ruki exchanged looks with Renamon. She hated to say it, but her mother had a point. They hadn't brought a whole lot of stuff with them and with so many people stuffed in together, it could get rank fast. And maybe she was right about Takato's mom.

She shrugged. "We'll come with you."

Rumiko beamed and rushed off to find Takato's mom. Ruki turned just in time to catch Renamon smiling to herself. Ruki grunted, trying to hide the urge to smile herself. Seemed like this whole thing was showing her different sides of people: Juri wasn't the girl she remembered now that Leomon was here, and look at Mom! _I didn't know she had it in her._ Too bad it took a digital disaster/invasion to show what she was really made of. Ruki went off to find Leomon and found Juri instead. She was a little skinnier than she remembered, the girl ditching that dog puppet and holding herself up taller.

"Hi, Ruki!" Juri said with a grin and a wave. Seemed like she was one of the few people still smiling these days. Maybe it was 'cause she was so new to all of this. She tilted her head as Ruki told her about the slight change in plans. "I'd love to take over guard duty!" Seeing the look Ruki shot her, Juri blushed. "It's, um, it's experience, right? I'm still working on being a Tamer."

Awhile ago, Ruki would've rolled her eyes at Juri, thinking she was playing at the game instead of realizing what was at stake here. Now it was different. Ruki hadn't talked that much with Ryo, but she caught him calling the whole thing between Leomon and Juri the "honeymoon" stage, like all Digimon partners and their humans went through it. Now Ruki really did roll her eyes.

She had Renamon digivolve before they set out, just in case. Her partner's paws began to melt the snow around her, the blue flames hissing. Rumiko looked up in awe at Kyuubimon, Mrs. Matsuda next to her.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Rumiko started to reach up to hoist herself onto Kyuubimon's back and then thought better of it, her outstretched hand hesitating. "Two adults won't be too much?"

Kyuubimon tilted her snout. "I think not."

"You're beautiful," Mrs. Matsuda blurted.

"Thank you," Kyuubimon said with a small, surprised laugh.

Ruki walked along Kyuubimon as they trotted out into the snow. She didn't say much, just listened, and it took her a few blocks down to realize that her mom wasn't chattering away about nothing like usual. She was trying to engage Takato's mom and, weirdly enough, it seemed to be working. Rumiko was very careful to avoid talking about her son – instead she launched into job war stories about modeling photoshoots and then turned it back on Mrs. Matsuda, asking about her bakery. Ruki took a few quick steps so she could walk at Kyuubimon's head.

"We probably shouldn't go too far," Kyuubimon kept her voice down. "Something feels…off."

"Like how?"

"I can't say. With the snow like this, I can't sense other Digimon as well I normally could. The sooner we get back, the better."

Ruki was quiet for a moment. "Yeah."

There was a clothing store a few blocks away Ruki thought was close enough and (hopefully) had some stuff that hadn't been looted yet. If it had, they came out here for nothing…still, if there was anyone _ever_ who could come up with clothes out of thin air, it was her mom, right?

The two women had wandered into the clothing store, picking their way through snow and rubble, when there was a scream and a roar back the way they came. Ruki jerked toward the sound just as the adults did. "That was Juri and Leomon!"

Rumiko and Mrs. Matsuda came running back through the snow, a half-full duffle bag slung over the taller woman's shoulder.

"Go on without us!" Rumiko shouted. "We'll catch up!"

Ruki nodded and hoisted herself on Kyuubimon's back. With a flurry of kicked up snow, they both raced back home.

It was only minutes before they reached their hideout. Ruki only needed a second to size up the situation, her hand sliding back to her hip for cards.

Kaminmon had his back to them, his wings glowing as he faced off against Leomon and Juri. One side of Juri's dress was wet like she took a fall into the snow, but fall or not, she was back on her feet and doing her best to help her partner. They'd tried their best to hold the tunnel but with the Ogremon swarming out of the snow drift and charging past Kaminmon, they were totally outnumbered. For some reason the Ogremon weren't dogpiling Leomon…in fact, they weren't fighting at all.

This wasn't gonna be easy, least of all because Kaminmon wised up and brought reinforcements and this wasn't just about picking the best card to slash; the Ogremon scattered meant she had to hunt them down one by one. Not only that, but Kaminmon himself was a way tougher customer than some Ogremon. _How did he know where to find us?_ She stamped that thought down. It didn't matter. Ruki was already slashing her card:

"_Digi-Modify_! Hyper Speed, _activate_!"

Kyuubimon glowed from under her. With the Hyper Speed flowing through body, she barreled for Kaminmon for all she was worth, leaving Ruki to hang on and brace herself. Wind whistled in her ears. She could hear Kyuubimon's breathing, feel her soft fur against her face. For a split nanosecond Ruki could imagine it was the two of them and the wind.

They slammed into Kaminmon. Ruki felt the impact's shock travel right up her arms. The enemy Digimon barked out in angry surprise as Kyuubimon dug her claws into him and sent him sprawling. They went down in a heap with Kaminmon on the bottom, his hooves kicking. Smoke and the stench of burning flesh rose in the air from where Kyuubimon's claws pierced his mottled hide.

Ruki took that as her chance to jump off – and just in time, too, because now Kyuubimon and Kaminmon were rolling away, claws and teeth and hooves going at each other like there was no tomorrow. Her partner snapped at his neck with her fangs, trying to get in a position to release her fire into him at point-blank range, and Kaminmon was doing his best to try to disembowel her with his razor-sharp hooves. His wings snapped open, run-through with static as he tried to power his own attack.

"The wings! Get them!" Ruki yelled.

Kyuubimon didn't need to be told twice. Her head lowered, her fangs snapped onto one of Kaminmon's wings, and with a growl, she jerked her head sidewise. The wing tore right off the side of her enemy's skull, his other wing flickering as it lost the energy to attack. Kaminmon screeched in pain and rage. Data gushed as he kicked like a monster possessed, managed to worm his way out of Kyuubimon's grasp and, with a snap of his hooves, galloped out from under her and to freedom. Data continued to bleed out of the stump on his head as he quivered. The hide covering his flanks twitched.

"I knew I should've killed the both of you earlier!" Kaminmon's voice trembled with fury.

"Your mistake!"

Kaminmon laughed. It was a nasty sound, wheezing like he never learned how to breathe properly. "I'll take both you traitors and your human masters on. It won't matter! You're too late!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Ogremon poured into the tunnel, tramping in one after the other and kicking aside boxes and blankets. Three-Scar led the way, his eyes reflecting the red emergency lights as he loped along. His breath came out in excited pants. Kaminmon said they couldn't kill any of these humans yet, but that didn't mean he had to handle 'em like they were fresh out of the digiegg either! With Kamimon busy out front with some of the Tamers, that left Three-Scar in charge, just the way he liked it: he pointed and several Ogremon peeled off to look for more humans.

He ran into his first one not long after – two male humans in a side room, a larger one with blue hair, a smaller one with brown hair and a scar under his eye. The smaller one started to bring out his Digivice, probably to summon his Digimon slave from wherever it wandered off to. Three-Scar didn't give him the chance. One swat of his club slammed him against the wall. The Digivice clattered to the floor and switched off. Three-Scar reached down and none-too-gently slung the stunned human over his shoulder. He turned on the older one with a snarl.

"Don't even think 'bout squealing for the others! You peep and I'll squeeze this one into pulp." Three-Scar was proud of himself. He'd remembered humans were particularly protective of the younger generation. Good thing he went after the Tamer first. He laid a meaty hand warningly on his hostage. "How many of you humans?"

The Ogremon had no idea he was talking with Janyuu Lee, one of his Makers. It wouldn't make a difference if he did. Janyuu's eyes went to Ryo, then back to Three-Scar. He swallowed. Anything less than the truth would give this monster an excuse to start having some fun. Janyuu raised his hands slowly.

"Thirteen," Janyuu found himself inwardly bracing for this to get uglier than it already was. "You do know we've got a Mega and an Ultimate on our side, don't you?"

Three-Scar chuffed in laughter. "So what? I don't see 'em, do you?"

Janyuu didn't say anything. He flinched at the sound of an explosion further down the tunnel.

One of the other Ogremon came trampling up behind Three-Scar. "We found more females and males!"

"Herd 'em out front like Kaminmon said!" Three-Scar was all for killing them on the spot, but he could see where Makuramon's ex-favorite was going with this plan. Round up the families and the Tamers would be drawn out, instead of trying to hole up in the tunnels. "What about Black Growlmon?"

"We're still looking. He wasn't with the others. And we're trying to drive out another of the Tamers from the tunnel – a female with a Dobermon."

"I'll take these out front." Three-Scar turned on the human. "You! Walk in front, hands up. No funny business!"

The human apparently knew better than to try anything. Janyuu did exactly as he was told. Three-Scar led the way back out, listening to the sounds of battle. They were joined by more Ogremon on the way, a few of them dragging their prisoners by the arms. One was stunned like Three-Scar's hostage. A human with purple hair limped along, her face pale as her leg dripped blood behind her, and Three-Scar almost wanted to slap the Ogremon who did _that_ on the back. He didn't mind looking the other way when the rest of his pals got gung-ho.

They'd caught a Digimon slave at the same time, some Impmon with a bad attitude. Three-Scar could hear him cussing up a storm. If he wasn't such a runt, he'd even be impressed.

"Pipe down!" One of the Ogremon turned. He slugged the slave in the face. Impmon shut up real fast after that.

Three-Scar reached the end of the tunnel. The sounds of a fierce battle grew louder, Kaminmon's voice rising in a triumphant yell as he caught sight of his soldiers.

"It's over, Tamers! Turn and see your failure. Bring me Black Growlmon!"

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_Once he got over the shock, HD4-Ryo went through every scrap of information in the server room, losing track of the hours. Everything about the original Ryo Akiyama he lapped up. After all that time taking it slow – or just existing, waiting for his Master to give him a purpose – and now it felt like it was rushing in fast, too fast. Dizzyingly fast. His head throbbed, forcing him to cradle his head. There was a lot to try to assimilate and all of it without the Master's guidance to streamline the process. Before it was carefully doling out information; efficient and clean and comfortable. Now he was clumsily trying to cram it all in. _

_Somehow he had to be better than the original. _

_He wasn't sure how yet. This planning and acting on his own stuff was new. _

_The problem was the files were intensive, week's worth of data, and the more he read about this Ryo's abilities, the more he realized they might not have weeks to begin with. Days, maybe. Devidramon said they were going after this Ryo Akiyama, only the probability of him rolling over and being defeated out on the field was pretty low, given his battle record. There was a much higher chance of him storming Master's palace with his Digimon army. _

_HD4-Ryo sat there, not even registering the screen dimming before him as it went to standby. Best to assume Ryo Akiyama was coming here…it was only a matter of when, not if. _

_He looked back at his reflection, touched his cheek. It felt different this time. Before it was just a face, a pink thing that didn't look like the Digimon. Now he looked at it and kept thinking back to the original Ryo, wondering what the database missed, what tics and mannerisms he might get wrong because intel hadn't picked up on it. Even his eyes were imperfect: a brown so deep it looked black, while Ryo Akiyama's eyes were supposed to be pale blue. Human Duplicates like HD4-Ryo were supposed to be as close as you could get to the original and until now, he'd believed it. Now he looked and only saw imperfection. It wasn't good enough. He wasn't good enough._

_All he knew was thinking of that other Ryo coming here sent an unpleasant thrill up him. _

_He'd be deleted before he even got close enough to lay hands on the human. One of Ryo's Digimon would get him – "nail him" (HD4-Ryo had to remember to sound more human, more casual, now more than ever) – and that'd be it. Whatever he did, he needed to play it differently than his dead brothers. Learn from their mistakes. _

_Do it right. _

_HD4-Ryo got up and stumbled out of the server room. Whatever happened, he couldn't let this Ryo Akiyama have the Master – he'd get to him, no matter what it took. Make him see somehow that you didn't need the original._

It took a little bit longer this time to snap awake. Getting up close and personal with an Ogremon club might have something to do with it. When Ryo stirred, he found himself blinking up at Janyuu. His mouth had been moving, his eyes wide, and the sound didn't register at first. The ringing died down but didn't go away.

"Get up! Both of you, come on!"

Ryo didn't waste time asking what happened. Janyuu helped him to his feet. Getting love-tapped by an Ogremon? Yeah, he wouldn't recommend it. He didn't even know what he was thinking, jumping in front with his D-Arc like he was still a Tamer. Next to him, Yamaki was also staggering up, part of his blond hair matted red with blood. Apparently he took one for the team. Ryo was impressed. He looked around, forgetting Janyuu's hand on his arm.

They were huddled together in a group ringed by two Ogremon, another Ogremon stomping out of the snow with two more humans: Ruki's and Takato's moms. Shuichon huddled next to her dad, trying to clap a hand to her mouth as she cried. The rest of the Ogremon surrounded Dobermon and Leomon. In the center of it all was Kyuubimon and Ruki facing off against Kaminmon. They should've been kicking his butts across Shinjuku, except – oh jeez. Ryo's eyes went wide. Hostages. _They_ were the hostages.

With them here, the Tamers couldn't fight.

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Oh no.

Ruki tried not to let her shock show on her face. Her family…everyone's families! She watched as Ogremon frog-marched her mom and Mrs. Matsuda to join the rest of the group. Kaminmon looked like the cat that caught the canary, looking even uglier now that he had everyone where he wanted them. Even Kyuubimon maiming him couldn't wipe the smile from twisting his snout.

"Here is how it will go: you _will_ give me Black Growlmon, wherever you have hidden him, and we won't kill your families. If you fail, we will start one by one until you see reason."

Kyuubimon bristled. "Let them go!"

Kaminmon ignored her. He snapped at the closest Ogremon. "Start with one of the males."

Ogremon grinned and went to do as he was told. "Sure thing, boss."

He plodded toward the hostages.

"_Exhaust Flame_!"

A wall of white flame scorched past, forcing Juri and Leomon to throw themselves to the ground or be incinerated. One of the Ogremon got caught by the blast as Kaminmon danced away in the knick of time, the unlucky soldier howling as he exploded into data. Ruki's head whipped around.

Black Growlmon. He could've run away during the fighting but here he was, his pupil's contracted to slits as he flexed his claws. Another snort blew out a ring of fire, so hot it was colorless. It was all Ruki could do not to look right at the big gaping hole now in Kaminmon's defenses – all eyes were on Black Growlmon and if he could just keep them busy for a little while longer…

Kyuubimon's ears gave the barest of flicks as she read her partner's mind. Ruki's hand inched to her cards on her hip.

"Humans as hostages!" Black Growlmon sneered. "You think like a human!"

Kaminmon recovered his composure. The barb stung but the other Champion tried to hide it. "Come with us peacefully, or else!"

"You'll kill them? Torture them? None of them are _my_ Tamer."

"You don't think I can't do it?" Kaminmon demanded. "I know how soft you slaves get about your masters and humankind."

"Where's Takato!?"

Kaminmon only glared at Black Growlmon. His tongue wormed out to wet his exposed fangs, the only sign of nervousness that betrayed him. Holding the Tamers' families hostage was one thing – Kaminmon banked on them caring too much to do anything stupid. Having a Digimon here who didn't give two shakes if these humans died and was willing to fight _anyway_ threw Kaminmon off-balance.

Ruki slashed her card at the same time Black Growlmon charged Kaminmon, his Plasma Blades glowing.

"Kyuubimon! _Digi-Modify_! Cross Hitter, _activate_!"

"Leomon! _Digi-Modify_! Giga Hand, _activate_!"

"Dobermon! _Digi-Modify_! Missile Pod, _activate_!"

They tore through the Ogremon surrounding the hostages, cutting deep into the scouting party. There wouldn't be enough to hold down the prisoners _and_ fight off the Tamers now. Realization dawned on Kaminmon's face as he burst into action. He planted a solid one-two kick with his hind-legs straight into Black Growlmon's face. His cloven hooves smashed into the other Champion's jaws. Kaminmon then spun around to attack the nearest Ogremon full force. The other monster didn't have time for anything more than a stupid expression of shock before he was deleted. Kaminmon uploaded his data and deleted another and another before his soldiers realized what he was doing. By then it was too late:

The light of digivolution glared in Ruki's face.

Unlike what she remembered of Rapidmon's, this one was different. Felt wrong somehow. Heat beat on her, hot as Black Growlmon's fire, the stench of sulfur and phosphorous hitting next. Ruki threw up her hand before she was blinded. What would Kaminmon's Ultimate form look like? Through the light new limbs twisted out with a _pop-pop-pop_ of data turning into bone. His hide cracked open and rippled into segments of tiger-striped armor. Another head snaked up with convulsive jerks and splattered drool all over the place. More arms continued to writhe out. Her D-Arc decided now was a good time to tell her who they were dealing with:

_Athmon  
Ultimate Level  
Demi-God Abomination_

Athmon was the ugliest Digimon she'd ever seen and that was saying something. The Ultimate looked like an accident, like all the trash data in the world belched up and thrown into a blender with a Unimon and a Centaurmon, then left to rot for a week. Call it a hunch, but if the Ogremon were bad enough, somehow she had the feeling Athmon was even worse. Athmon rose up on his extra legs, the new arms and tentacles protruding from his armor to grasp several huge spears. Every time he moved, some kind of slime oozed out between the armor, like he was a giant, festering wound oozing pus.

Salvia dripped down from Athmon's left head, ringed with a spider's set of eyes. "_I should've done this a long time ago_!"

"_We waited for our Mistress to give us permission. We _tried_ to be dutiful_," Head 2's jaws dropped down in a silent laugh. Athmon's bulk heaved and quaked as the abomination towered over them. "_But you scum forced our hand! We suppose we should thank you, but once we're through, there won't be anything left to thank_! _We'll finish this here and now_!"

Kyuubimon stood her ground. "Get everyone else out of here!"

"_I don't think so_!"

Before Janyuu could herd the others away, one of Athmon's arms shot out into the crowd of humans. His claws easily plucked out Rumiko and dangled her in the air hundreds of feet up. Athmon's twin heads weaved together as he grinned. The eyelids on Head 1 nictitated sideways as he twitched and jerked, unable to contain his own new power.

"_We'll start with this one, then_!"

Black Growlmon's white mane raised in hackles as he reared his head back with the sound of furnace going off.

"_Exhaust Flame_!"

Ruki shouted at the same time. "Black Growlmon, don't!"

He ignored her. That he risked nailing her mom didn't even cross his mind. Ruki watched in horror as the flamethrower shot toward Athmon's arm. The Ultimate laughed and blocked the attack with one of his spears. The fire winked out into useless sparks. Athmon cackled, two voices blending together. One of the tentacles writhing off his back surged forward and wrapped around Black Growlmon's neck, lifting him like he weighed nothing, squeezing and squeezing until Black Growlmon's eyes rolled back. The other Digimon launched themselves at the Abomination.

Leomon lunged at Athmon. Miraculously he managed to get to one of the chinks in his armor, dodging through the claws and tentacles gunning for him, but when he tried to stab his sword in, he was horrified to find it simply slid of with a loud _ping_ of metal. Dobermon was hot on Leomon's tail, his mouth opened in a snarl as he released his Schwartz Strahl. The beams lanced out and arced across one of Athmon's heads to cut a path through the falling snow. False after-images burned and flickered…and the only changes were lines of soot across that ugly mug. It didn't even tickle.

"Dobermon!" Alice was yelling from the ground. "Stromstärke!

"_We think not_!" One of Athmon's freakishly long claws bore down on Dobermon before he could release the EMP, slamming the smaller Digmon to the ground with a sickening thud. The rest of his claws shot out to take more hostages, coming up with Shuichon and Janyuu. "_Pathetic! How you escaped Odaiba is beyond us_!"

Ruki slashed her own card, doing her best to ignore Shuichon's screams. "_Digi-Modify_! Hyper Chip, _activate_!"

"_Dragon Wheel_!"

Kyuubimon hit the arm holding Shuichon with renewed power. Any other Digimon and the enemy would've been deleted on the spot. Today, though? Today wasn't their lucky day. Her attack wasn't enough to amputate Athmon's arm, only (barely) enough to make him flinch and drop the little girl. She didn't fall far before Leomon hurtled up to catch her. He set her back down on the ground before he darted back into the battle, Juri rushing to help Shuichon get under cover. Ruki didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief. Her mom and Janyuu were still up there!

Athmon reared back, holding his prisoners high above his heads.

The spikes on his back snapped up one by one in sequence like a countdown timer, vibrating with a low droning hum. "_Trojan Impact_!"

The disgusting liquid leaking from Athmon hardened and shot out in a wave toward the other Digimon. The area attack slammed into Dobermon and Leomon, sending them flying. When they fell, they didn't move. The only thing that told Ruki they were okay was the fact they hadn't dissolved into data. It didn't change the fact they were totally sitting ducks. "Okay" was relative.

Kyuubimon did everything she could to dance out of the way, but a tendril of the Trojan Impact still grazed her back leg, sending her staggering back toward her partner. "Ruki, we – "

Before Ruki could slash a card, Athmon's claws were suddenly around her. Her voice was choked off as she rocketed into the air, catching only a blurred impression of Kyuubimon's horrified expression. Her cards drifted to the snow below as Ruki struggled in Athmon's grip. Try as she might, she couldn't pull her arms free, even if it meant punching uselessly at Athmon's fingers. This high up she could see the others: Black Growlmon was already out cold, Janyuu having trouble breathing, and Rumiko doing her best to hold on. Her Mom's face was burned into her memory.

A guttural voice hissed.

"_We tire of this. And it's clear you are the most experienced Tamer here_ - "

"Let her go!" Rumiko gasped from several feet higher up. "Please!"

Athmon laughed, Head 2 swinging toward Ruki for a closer look. "_That female seems to care about you more than the others. We thought you looked similar_."

"_I suppose you are family_," Head 1 hissed. A string of drool dripped down to sizzle in the churned-up snow. "_It's only fitting you both die together_!"

Athmon dropped Ruki. Being trussed up ten stories up suddenly didn't seem like it was that tall when you were falling like a rock.

Ruki squeezed her eyes shut. Kyuubimon could hear her. _Save my mom! Save Jenrya's dad and everyone! Don't worry about me! _What happened to her wasn't important; neither was digivolving or cards or anything. It all went out the window. Somehow Ruki felt her partner lunging up toward her. Hopefully she would make it to Mom in time. It wasn't as if she could save all three at once -

"Kyuubimon digivolve to…!"

"_No_!" Athmon's heads screamed as one.

The digivolution only took seconds, but it felt like so much longer. Ruki had never been at ground zero of one and it wasn't at all like she imagined. Beautiful warmth bathed her, made her sigh in pleasure. She could feel Renamon everywhere, hear that voice in her head, feel that love and drive to protect everyone she cared about. The next thing Ruki knew, she was tumbling out of the digivolution's light headfirst, the ground rushing up fast as time jittered back to normal. It hadn't snowed enough to cushion a fall like this. Ruki sucked in the instinctive breath to scream and found she couldn't. Nothing came out.

"I've got you!" A voice breathed over her head.

Ruki looked up. In her mind, she somehow knew who her rescuer was without the D-Arc chattering away.

Taomon gave one of those private smiles reserved only for her Tamer.

"You always will," Ruki gazed up at Taomon.

"Naturally."

Taomon landed lightly on her feet to set Ruki down, straightening to size up the situation. She was taller than Rapidmon, but the resemblance ended there. Robes covered her, her body digivolved to one that looked almost human if you ignored the fox's tail and the clawed hands peeking out of her clothes. Her eyes, though. Her eyes were the same: cold as ice and yet so warm. Now they hardened. Taomon stepped forward as her robes flapped – the very snow didn't seem to touch her, swirling to dance around her almost playfully. To Ruki, she looked invincible.

Athmon froze where he was, his remaining hostages still hanging in the air, for the moment forgotten. Even his heads stopped twitching, going almost unnaturally still. The only sign of movement was the steady drip of acidic saliva.

"Like you said, it's too late," Taomon said quietly.

**To be continued…**

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Unrelated but I've been playing Digimon Masters Online and Lord of the Rings Online. If you play either, hi! Other than that, usually bouncing around Plurk at timefreeze.


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